DUNEDIN, Fla. — While the City of Dunedin and baseball fans in the region rejoiced when a 25-year deal was reached with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017, one group says it is now getting the short end of the stick.

The Dunedin High School baseball team has held its practices and home games at the Blue Jays spring training facilities since 1977. 

But in 2016, the team was asked to relocate its practices to one of the city's Little League fields.

"The city had asked Coach Sexton to bear with them as they were in negotiations," said Keirsten Morton, a parent of one of the players and president of the team’s booster club.

Morton said the Little League field is not regulation size. But still, she said the players made it to the state championships last season, finishing in second place. 

All the while, said Morton, the team was under the impression it would begin practicing again at the Blue Jays facilities once renovations were complete. Morton said it wasn’t until just a few weeks ago did the team learn they would no longer be allowed to practice at the facilities at all during the MLB spring training season. 

We reached out to the Blue Jays organization for an explanation and received the following statement:

“Since 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays have been a proud member of the city of Dunedin and we are delighted to remain in the community for years to come. Prior to undertaking our current renovation project, the conditions at both our stadium and complex were below Major League standards, caused in part by challenges to maintain our fields due to heavy usage. As we began contemplating a renovation in 2016, we reassessed field usage during Spring Training to ensure our Major and Minor League players received the best access to well-kept facilities in order to achieve the highest level of performance. These operational changes still allowed us to continue our long-standing relationship with Dunedin High School. The construction delays this spring are unfortunate and affect both the Blue Jays’ Spring Training schedule, as well as Dunedin High School’s baseball team; however, the school’s access remains fairly consistent with the last few years and includes six games at our newly renovated stadium. We are pleased to be one of the few MLB teams to offer community access to our Spring Training and Florida State League home, and look forward to watching Dunedin High School take the field this season.” 

“We've never been told that and I think we've been good stewards of the property and taken good care of the fields,” Morton said, in reaction to the statement.

We also reached out the City of Dunedin and received the following response from Deputy City Manager Doug Hutchens:

But while the Blue Jays and the city have arranged for the high school team to continue playing home games at the spring training complex, Morton said the lack of a permanent practice field is disheartening. 

"That's not what we were sold,” Morton said. "I think this part got swept under the rug."

Spectrum Bay News 9 also reached out to the Pinellas County School District, since the Falcons are the only high school team in the county without its own field. The district said it’s working to secure a practice field at Frank Tack Park in Clearwater for the Falcons to use. 

“The Pinellas County School District and the City of Dunedin are working on a solution to help find Dunedin High School’s baseball team a more permanent place to practice,” said district spokesperson Isabel Mascarenas.  “We are proud of how the school’s baseball team has handled the adjustments they’ve had to make throughout the season.”