The city of Santa Fe Springs has reinstated its agreement with the Metropolitan Little League, allowing children to return to the municipal baseball fields after a week-long lockout. The decision, announced on Wednesday, ends a dispute that had left the league’s fall season in limbo and upset parents in the community.
The city had revoked the league's access over allegations that the organization was improperly subleasing its fields to another nonprofit, the Metro Baseball Academy. Assistant City Manager Nicholas Razo stated that the city had raised concerns about subletting and took action after learning the practice was continuing. Razo emphasized that the issue was about ensuring all organizations using city facilities followed the same rules and expectations, while acknowledging the importance of youth baseball to the community. City Manager René Bobadilla also commented, stating that the city's goal from the beginning was to support young people and ensure public facilities were used fairly and responsibly. Bobadilla thanked the Metropolitan Little League's newly elected president, Joe Esparza, for reaching an understanding. Esparza was set to officially take over as president on Thursday.
At the heart of the dispute was the Metro Baseball Academy, a separate nonprofit that runs training clinics for league players who pay to participate. City officials said they investigated after receiving complaints, learning that the Metro Little League had created the academy to run its clinics, enabling it to use the fields year-round. This raised questions, according to Razo, about whether the academy was bringing in more children from outside the area than permitted by the city, and using the fields at the lower rates provided to the league. Under its agreement with Santa Fe Springs, at least 60% of Metro Little League’s players must live in the city. Razo also noted that the city became suspicious after receiving a message where academy officials reportedly directed parents to register their children under the league for the fall season after the official registration deadline.
Odalys Valladares, the league’s former president, denied the city’s claims. She stated that the league, like many others, often allows children to sign up after the deadline if space is available. Valladares also denied that the league was subleasing fields to the academy, asserting that the academy operated independently and was paying the city directly for field use. Andrew Hernandez, president of the Metro Baseball Academy, supported this claim, providing email exchanges and invoices dating back to July to demonstrate that the academy had been paying for its use of the athletic fields. He wrote in an email that the academy had requested field use, received permits, paid associated fees, and communicated with city staff. Hernandez also shared a July letter where he had pleaded with city officials for a fee waiver, citing financial hardship, and stated the city denied his request. On September 23, both Hernandez and Valladares were informed the city was revoking access to the fields for both the league and the academy.
Valladares stated that she and others resigned from the academy board to address the city’s concerns, and she later chose not to seek reelection to the Little League board, aiming for new leadership. Despite this, she maintained that neither the league nor the academy had violated city rules. Valladares alleged that the problems only began after she launched her campaign for Santa Fe Springs City Council. She claimed that Councilmember Annette Rodriguez, who is seeking reelection and whose grandson plays in the league, told parents at a game to vote Valladares and the rest of the board out. Valladares linked the lifting of the lockout to her earlier assertion, saying it showed “there was no proof of allegations of wrongdoing on my part.” She affirmed her intention to continue coaching and supporting the league.
Other individuals in Santa Fe Springs have also alleged retaliation related to the dispute. Aden Medina, 20, a former supervisor for Parks and Recreation, stated he was fired this month after the city learned he was coaching for the Little League. The city confirmed Medina’s employment but declined to comment on the circumstances of an employee’s separation. Additionally, Councilmember Joe Zamora, who had served as the city’s mayor, was stripped of that title at a City Council meeting — a move allegedly motivated, at least in part, by his support for Valladares.
While the Metropolitan Little League's access to the fields has been restored, the city did not specify whether the Metro Baseball Academy’s access would also be reinstated.
