For soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, and God knows what other sports use the fields.
At one point last year when I was coaching soccer, before daylight savings time expanded the amount of daylight available, there were four teams practicing on one field – each got a quarter of the field.
There is a great discussion at cvillenews right now – step up to educate yourself and get involved. Most likely, there is no “one” solution – private enterprise needs to be encouraged and supported by local government. Chad Day has first-hand insight as well.
Proximity to “green spaces” – parks, athletic fields, etc is good for property values. I’d posit that we’re nearing an epidemic shortage of fields.