The sports journalist Pavel Otero reported on the state of neglect of the Mario Pedroso Baseball Stadium, located in the municipality of Bejucal, Mayabeque province, with the playing field completely overgrown with weeds, a deteriorating facade, and the stands in ruins.
In a post on Facebook, the reporter directly tagged INDER and Canal Caribe, and included five photographs that document the deterioration of the facility.
"Is it really that difficult to clear that land? Is there no one nearby who has a brush cutter and could rent out their services? Is the only option to let the grass grow and the stadium turn into a pasture?" Otero wrote in his post.
The complainant pointed out that the issue is not one of resources but of will, comparing the situation to other facilities that are maintained in acceptable conditions: "In the midst of the very difficult circumstances we are currently experiencing in our country, I see very good examples of baseball fields that are well-cut, repaired, and painted. So I can't understand how some can do it and others cannot."
His conclusion was straightforward: "Some seek solutions, while others only find justifications."
Otero also warned about the social consequences of neglect: "A sports facility overgrown with grass is a door we are closing on the healthy recreation of young people and on the proper use of their leisure time; at the same time, it is a door we are opening to vandalism and to young people seeking other, less healthy forms of entertainment."
The stadium is named after Mario Pedroso Rodríguez, known as "el Yeje," a mentor, physical education teacher, and promoter of baseball in Bejucal. The facility was inaugurated in 1960, completely rebuilt in 1980, and received new stands in 1982.
It plays a key community role for municipal baseball, as the main stadium of Mayabeque for the National Series is the Nelson Fernández, located in San José de las Lajas.
The case is not isolated. So far in 2026, a pattern of neglect in sports facilities has been documented throughout Cuba: the Raúl Díaz Argüelles Sports Complex in Havana, the Río Cristal Recreational Complex in Boyeros, the Jesús Suárez Gayol Stadium in Mariel, and the Pity Fajardo Sports School in Santiago de Cuba are all facing similar issues of overgrowth, rust, and deteriorating structures.
The crisis also impacts youth competition: in May 2026, the National Baseball Commission suspended the national championships for Under-12, Under-15, and Under-18 due to the energy crisis and lack of fuel for interprovincial transport, leaving hundreds of young players without competition for months.
Bejucal, for its part, shows signs of widespread urban deterioration. At the beginning of 2026, the municipality was described as a virtually abandoned village, with colonial buildings at risk of collapse and garbage accumulating in its streets, a situation that worsened with new waste hotspots documented in August.
In 2022, INDER itself acknowledged that only 27 out of 273 swimming pools in the country were operational, merely 9.8% of the total, which illustrates the extent of the structural decay that Cuban sports have been grappling with for years.
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