Wahanna Fields in Seaside.

Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District officials want the Seaside School District to consider keeping softball play at Broadway Field.

It does seem likely, or at least possible, that the Seaside School District won’t be using Broadway Field for softball in the next couple of years, Skyler Archibald said at a late January meeting.

Archibald, the executive director of Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, represents one of three parties to determine the fields’ future, along with the city and Seaside School District.

According to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights the school district has until the end of June 2023 to build a softball facility and provide more equity between girls and boys athletics.

The noticeable differences between the baseball and softball diamonds at Broadway Field create potential violations of Title IX, the federal law meant to protect against discrimination in education.

“They have shared what they need to do in order to comply with what the Office of Civil Rights has indicated,” Archibald said. “We are working with Seaside School District staff to do what we can to support.”

Among options is relocating to Wahanna Fields, the site of a field now.

The park district has the turf knowledge and turf equipment to make the field upgrades, he said.

Meanwhile, the park district continues to present the option of improvements at Broadway Field.

“I’ve offered that,” Archibald said. “There might still be a solution at Broadway Field that might be more economically feasible to all parties, to keep the field there, where we already have the structure and the lights.”

According to the federal agreement, the fields must open by 2023, he said. “It’s a pretty aggressive timeline.”