Sandstorm of controversy hits Sunset Park volleyball courts

The sand might hurt your feet after you jump to spike the volleyball and land on the ground.

Or it may cut your legs, feet or toes while you're sprinting to hit the ball. Even if you aren't hurt, Clark County's gritty new sand simply doesn't feel very nice compared to the old soft sand.

So say the volleyball league enthusiasts who have long flocked to the county's 185-acre Sunset Park southeast of McCarran International Airport. For years it was a soft, high-grade silica sand that made the park's seven volleyball courts a hallowed playground for those looking for a quality experience and soft landing.

Last week volleyball players found that the county had started replacing soft sand with a coarser, grittier sand. Players compared the new sand to kitty litter.

"I need soft sand to land in," said Sarah Gorsuch, 33, who has played volleyball for about 10 years at the park. "It's incredibly horrible. It's like kitty litter."

Gorsuch, of Las Vegas, tried digging into the sand with her foot. After 2 inches, she said, "it's basically like concrete."

Dale Haldeman, 61, a Henderson resident, said "it went from a really soft beach sand that you would like to lay in and play in to kitty litter. That's the best way to describe it -- almost like ground-up gravel."

Concerns run deep.

"You can't dive in it," said Joel Paschall, 44, a Las Vegas volleyball player. "People are going to get scuffed knees and scuffed elbows and hurt limbs."

County response

Ron Robinson, the county's recreation program supervisor for sports, works in an office near the volleyball courts. His staff has fielded at least 50 calls from people concerned about the sand since last week.

"We hear our customers and we empathize with them," said Robinson, who is involved in the park's recreation programs, not maintenance issues.

Robinson said the county's maintenance people and his department are planning to meet and seek a solution. The county's volleyball courts have about 10 leagues.

Ron Carrington, the county's Real Property Management staffer involved in the project, didn't want to comment on the sand snafu. He didn't return a reporter's call, leaving county spokesman Erik Pappa to explain what's next for the sandstorm of controversy. Pappa acknowledged the new sand isn't as popular the older sand, though he didn't compare it to kitty litter.

"The sand was the best in town," he said. "At least, it was until recently."

The sand saga started several months ago, when the Tropicana donated some sand to the county. The county placed it in the volleyball courts and it was too coarse. The county then turned to a vendor for 1,000 tons of sand.

"We ordered some new sand," Pappa said. "We went with sand we thought would work, but unfortunately, it wasn't up to the players' expectations, so we're doing some more work to investigate what may work best."

That order cost under $40,000. The county's vendor stopped selling the softer grade of sand in part over potential health concerns, Pappa said. Those included potential lung problems. It's unclear if that type of sand is available elsewhere.

But county officials appear willing to shop around for alternatives.

"We're going to get the sand wherever we need to get it to resolve the matter," Pappa said.

Happier volleyball days

Getting the right sand into the volleyball courts was a career accomplishment for Mike Krauss, a retired county recreation program administrator.

In the early 1990s, Krauss traveled to California and learned how to plan volleyball courts with 6-inch concrete boundaries to hold the sand.

The courts were finished in 1992. In the following years, the county would purchase sand from a professional volleyball tournament that came to the Hard Rock and played each year.

The professional-grade sand played a key role in topping off the courts each year to replace what the wind carried away. It cost about $5,000 annually.

The county later switched to an Overton-based supplier to get fresher sand.

"We bought the best of the best," said Krauss, who retired in 2005.

Asked about the change, Krauss said: "It's depressing. I just think it's a shame we can't keep the same quality of sand in Sunset Park and keep the status of being the No. 1 volleyball facility."

He added: "My opinion is they need to go back and purchase that sand or something similar to that grade of sand."

There's one other option, perhaps inspired in part by the John Lennon song: "Give Peace a Chance." It comes from a Clark County maintenance worker who didn't want to be named for fear of getting in trouble.

His suggestion: "Give the sand a chance."

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1