GVRD 'feels bad' for canceled Seaweed season, remains optimistic for 2027

May 30-After it was recently announced that the Vallejo Seaweed canceled its entire season in Vallejo, as well as a traveling team in Martinez, Dublin and Bakersfield, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District responded by saying that although it feels bad for the loss it is "hopeful" the team can make an eventual return to Wilson Park.

In April, the minor league baseball independent team the Seaweed announced that after Wilson Park was left without electricity following a copper robbery, the team would have to play the majority of its home games in Martinez. Another nine home games were scheduled to be played in Bakersfield and four others in Dublin. The team was still scheduled to be called the Seaweed, while also playing with the same uniforms and hats.

However, those games at alternate sites were later revealed this past week to not be possible either, and the season was canceled for the Seaweed.

"We couldn't get staff to work full time at the other venues," Dunn told the Times-Herald on Wednesday. "It wasn't going to work. We have to be a model of consistency, and this is about as inconsistent as it gets."

Given the problems at Wilson Park, coupled with the strained relationship between the franchise and the Greater Vallejo Recreation District, Dunn said the team's status for playing in Vallejo in 2027 or beyond is unknown at this time.

On Friday afternoon, GVRD Board Chair Thomas Judt wrote a letter to Seaweed fans and sent it to the Times-Herald. In the letter Judt gave reasons for the cancelation but offers optimism for a return.

"To The Citizens of Vallejo and all Seaweed Fans, please let me assure you that all of us at GVRD feel bad that we were not able to accommodate night games for the Seaweed in 2026," Judt wrote. "We all absolutely understand the meaning and importance of the Seaweed to Vallejo culture and GVRD is firmly supportive of fun, family activities, especially from our local team."

The letter comes about four months after GVRD was notified by a park maintenance employee in early January that some doors at the Wilson Park facility were open, with exposed wires and open electrical ground boxes. Officials say there was extensive wire theft and vandalism damage to the electrical distribution equipment, tampered PG&E facilities, cut/broken locks, and broken doors. The damage from vandalism resulted in repairs that could cost more than $1 million. It will require replacement of the following items:

-Main electrical service switchgear

-Building electrical distribution equipment

-Field lighting controls

-Field lighting conduits and wiring

-Field lighting distribution equipment (at the poles)

-PGE facilities and distribution equipment

-Building Damages (doors, locks, walls)

-The current light poles will also need to be inspected for structural integrity.

-Dunn said another factor in the limited schedule was the lack of working bathrooms.

"GVRD staff did research alternatives to powering the existing light standards with generators of various sorts," Judt continued in his letter. "The challenges that came before the board were ongoing security, in light of the recent vandalism that occurred over multiple nights; and the practical consideration of funding the expense of temporary power, an expense our insurance carrier would not cover. Unfortunately, the GVRD board did not feel that any of the options provided were practicable."

Judt added that GVRD has recently recovered from a financial setback by employing strict austerity measures and the sale of Capital Assets, giving it enough 'one-time' money to pay for operations at traditional levels, in between its receipt of property tax revenue which is only dispersed twice a year. He went on to say that GVRD must keep more than $3 million dollars in unrestricted reserves just to pay the bills from May through December and there is just not a lot left over to pay for the extra expense of temporary power, logistics and security.

"Due to the nature of the vandalism, GVRD's insurance carrier felt it best to bring in a specialty adjuster to evaluate the extent, and monetary amount, of the damage caused," Judt said. "The Board of Directors has yet to see a final report on what the Insurer will cover and what costs GVRD must bear. GVRD will release a press release when a final solution to this challenge has be decided. Please know that GVRD is supportive of the Seaweed and as Board Chair I am hopeful that once repairs have been completed that Wilson Field will be home, once again, for Vallejo's favorite baseball team."

Judt urged citizens to attend regularly scheduled GVRD board meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month at 401 Amador St. in Vallejo at 6:30 p.m. They can also reach him at at thomasjudt@gvrd.org

Earlier in the week, Dunn and former Seaweed General Manager Mark Walter voiced concern over how GVRD was running its business. Walter - who has strong roots in Vallejo after a stint as the board chair of Visit Vallejo and the founder of the film and production company Film Mare Island - said the news of no season was "devastating" and he's troubled with the way everything went down.

"It just seems that GVRD is very reactive in its issues and not proactive when it comes to its own assets," Walter said on Thursday. "There are no lights at Dan Foley Park and now at Wilson Park as well. They really need to fence those places in because that's a million-dollar loss as a business. It seems very strange to me to allow businesses to run that way."

Walter said on Thursday that he was trying to have some power generators at Wilson Park so the team could still play games at night.

"In April, we had a status check with GVRD to see where we were at, and we still had high hopes for a season," Walter said on Wednesday. "We wanted to put in some power generators, and we were hoping that GVRD would provide two of them. They told us in the email that they would not be providing those generators, and that was kind of the end of it."

Dunn feels the franchise playing in Vallejo is still up in the air.

"It all depends on if GVRD thinks it justifies them repairing their lighting and other issues," Dunn said on Wednesday. "You know, GVRD is under new leadership soon, so I don't know what's going to happen. But not playing in 2026, that's going to be a definite big strike against them. So it's tough, you know? It's sad. The fans really want a team here. But what does that mean? At the end of this season, we'll see if we can get the conversation started again."

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