What happened to Slim’s Playground?

Many of you may be wondering why Slim’s Playground was dismantled. The reason is that because of age, wear & tear and vandalism, the structures had become unsafe. ELYSA is first and foremost concerned with the safety of our families, and made the decision to take the playground equipment down. We are eagerly looking forward to designing and building a new and improved playground for the youngest members of the ELYSA community – all of the younger siblings of our players who spend time at the complex “watching” their older brothers and sisters play sports.

The original playground was donated by the family of the beloved Slim McKinniss, a dedicated volunteer and member of ELYSA, back when we were the Upper Pinellas Youth Sports Complex. Slim spent countless hours lovingly maintaining our complex in its early days. The playground was built as a thank you and a remembrance of Slim.

Unfortunately, because ELYSA is COMPLETELY funded by user fees (remember, we get NO tax money from Pinellas County), we do not have funds in our budget to replace the unsafe equipment, or upgrade to a playground that would best serve our young children.

Therefore, ELYSA is sending out a call for volunteers. We need people to help plan, fund raise and rebuild Slim’s Playground. We need individuals from all three sports – baseball & softball, football & cheerleading and soccer. If you are interested in helping with this worthy project, please email info@eastlakesports.org, or call Rick Watson at 727-251-8852.

HELP US HONOR SLIM BY REBUILDING HIS PLAYGROUND!

© 2004 East Lake Youth Sports Association, All rights reserved