Little League in need after fire destroys $20K of equipment

By Sabrina Schnur Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Mario Berlanga, owner of Mario’s Market in the Historic Westside, holds his granddaughter, Rh ... — Mario Berlanga, owner of Mario’s Market in the Historic Westside, holds his granddaughter, Rhylee Berlanga, 1, while attending a Metropolitan police community event at the Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix Family Fun Center on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. Berlanga, president of the Bolden Little League, said the league is fundraising more than $20,000 after a fire in their storage center destroyed all of their equipment. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt

Youth baseball plaques in the office of Mario Berlanga, Jr., president of Mario’s Westside Market Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Berlanga is president of Bolden Little League. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto

Evann Villanueva, 8, Las Vegas, outside the baseball fields at Kianga Isoke Palacio Park at Doolitle Complex Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Villanueva has signed up to play in the Bolden Little League. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto

Members of the Blue Jays put their hats back on after the national anthem during the opening day celebration for the third season of Bolden Little League at Doolittle Field in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 13, 2019. The league is sponsored by the Metropolitan Police Department, along with Bolden Area Command, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, among others. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Rangers’ Jay Jay Nichols, 12, celebrates after scoring a run against the Bulldogs during the opening day celebration for the third season of Bolden Little League at Doolittle Field in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Bolden Little League is in a frantic rush to raise more than $20,000 after a fire destroyed all the team’s equipment.

The baseball league, which charges no registration fee, gives away equipment to any child who needs it. But a fire sometime last summer in the league’s storage center destroyed the new uniforms, bats, gloves, helmets and a new $300 set of bases, league president Mario Berlanga said Sunday.

More than 100 kids have already signed up for the 2022 season, which Berlanga hopes will start practice on March 1. The season opener is scheduled for April 9.

“Now we have to start from scratch,” Berlanga said. “There were brand new uniforms. This year I was eight sets ahead. We lost it all.”

Berlanga brought the list of destroyed items to Turf Sporting Goods, where he usually buys the team’s equipment. The damage was estimated at $23,000.

“In a league that you don’t charge, that $23,000 is a lot of money,” he said.

He started the league with former Bolden area command Capt. Robert Plummer in 2016 to bridge the gap between the community and its police department in an area where racial remarks and police brutality fostered distrust. Berlanga, who grew up in Historic Westside and owns Mario’s West Side Market, said that he has watched the community’s relationship with Metro ebb and flow, and he has seen a drastic improvement over the past years.

The league is named after the late Larry Bolden, who was the first Black man to reach the rank of deputy chief with the Metropolitan Police Department. He died in 2000, nine years after retiring from his 33-year career.

Metro officers and community volunteers make up the coaching staff.

Berlanga said he has received offers for help from the LVMPD Foundation and Clark County sheriff candidate Kevin McMahill, but he worries about raising the money in time for season.

Last season, renting the fields cost $11,500 and purchasing new uniforms was another $9,000.

Anyone interested in donating may contact Maurilioberlanga@icloud.com. Berlanga asked that all checks be written to Bolden Little League.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Alexis Ford contributed to this report.