Cricket group says debate on Dartmouth ball fields has included racism, inaccurate information

As Halifax considers turning Dartmouth ball diamonds into a cricket pitch, the province’s cricket association says debate around the move has included racist online comments and inaccurate information.

Municipal staff have suggested converting the Dartmouth Common ball diamonds into the city’s first league-size cricket facility in 2028, and upgrading nearby fields in the meantime to accommodate displaced ball players.

But local baseball groups and some community members have pushed back. They have said the upgrades are inadequate, and changing the use of Arthur H. Merrick Memorial Ball Field would erase local history, including Merrick’s legacy in building Dartmouth youth baseball.

The Dartmouth District Minor Baseball Association (DDMBA) said in a Facebook post earlier this month that it supports cricket expansion, but the local cricket organization “only serves approximately 200 registered participants” in Halifax compared to the more than 1,600 children and youth in its organization.

The baseball association’s online petition calling for a shared-use model for the field, or moving the cricket pitch somewhere else, had gathered more than 3,300 names as of Monday.

A letter from Bob Merrick, Arthur Merrick’s son, urging councillors to keep the field for baseball was also shared online. He wrote that there were about 250 adults in the local cricket league, and “eliminating a heavily used baseball field to accommodate a far smaller group is not responsible planning.”

Jeff Van Mulligen, DDMBA president, said in an email to CBC on Friday that the number of cricket players his group cited in its post came from information from the Nova Scotia Cricket Association that he found in an online search.

Dinesh Gaddam, vice-president of the cricket association, said in an interview that their league alone has more than 400 players in Halifax using only two fields.

Revant Sharan, the association’s secretary, added in an email to CBC that the inclusion of other leagues brings the total to about 1,500 cricket players in Halifax. 

“We’re trying to make sure that misinformation is clarified and more details provided,” Gaddam said Friday.

Gaddam said the narratives that their sport is taking away from another group and erasing local history have stirred up emotions as they have seen through hateful social media comments and some direct messages.

“People started telling us ‘Hey, go back to your country’ and, you know, the standard usual stuff,” Gaddam said.

During a council meeting last Tuesday, Dartmouth Centre Coun. Sam Austin said those online comments have been an “ugly sort of thing.” He said the reality is there is a demand for cricket because people who are part of the community want to play, and it’s the municipality’s job to satisfy different needs.

Gaddam said their league numbers also do not capture the many people playing cricket recreationally in various green spaces around Halifax, which is so widespread the city began posting signs advising that cricket wasn’t permitted in certain locations.

Halifax spokesperson Graeme Benjamin confirmed in an email to CBC that in 2024 the parks and recreation department installed signs at 16 municipal sports fields and green spaces where cricket activity had damaged the field infrastructure or caused “operational concerns.”

He said the city puts up similar signs for activities such as golf, smoking, campfires and dogs on sports fields.

“The fact that people are comparing cricket against baseball is just incorrect,” Gaddam said. “I think every sport deserves a chance. We want to grow, at the same time, I think we want to help baseball grow. My kid plays baseball.

“Everyone’s choice must be given, right, when we are living in a diverse city like Halifax.”

Last Tuesday, Halifax council passed Austin’s motion asking for more information on whether a shared cricket-baseball facility on the Dartmouth Common could work, and analysis of baseball/softball field usage and availability in Dartmouth.

It also asked staff to explore the possibility of restoring the nearby former Green Road ball diamond into a playing field after the designated homeless encampment on the site closes. Halifax is aiming to close its remaining two encampments by the end of 2027.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces to this, and … before we make a decision, we need all the information out there and available to us,” Austin said.

Austin said he is hopeful that report comes back to council within a few months.

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