By Madeleine Voth
The constant ping from aluminum bats hitting baseballs has become a nuisance to residents along SE 70th Ave., where Warner Pacific University recently installed a new outdoor batting cage. What began as a simple amenity for the school’s recently revived baseball program has turned into a point of contention for nearby residents, who say the noise is constant, disrupts their daily life and is in violation of Portland’s city noise ordinance.
Warner Pacific brought baseball back as a sport in February of 2024 and subsequently built a cage just behind its gymnasium on SE Division St. for student athletes to practice in. The facility sits only about 30 feet from university-owned rowhouses and apartments, but is also less than 150 feet from longtime residents. From that distance, neighbors say, the repeated clang of metal bats carries easily into their homes and backyards.
Charles Hudson, who has lived on the block since 2012, describes the sound as constant and intrusive. “I like to spend time outside; gardening, reading, enjoying my backyard,” he said. “That pleasure has been stolen from me with this noise. Once it gets in your head, it’s hard to get it out.” Hudson lives with tinnitus and wears hearing aids, and says the disruption is more than a nuisance. “I finally got special hearing aids to help me contend with that…and now this noise just clashes with that remedy…it’s particularly debilitating to me.”
Other neighbors echo his frustration. Rod Meyer, a resident of the neighborhood since 2003 and a former college baseball player himself, has a clear view of the cage from his living room. “It might as well be in my front yard,” he said. “They even run it on Sunday mornings. It’s a Christian university; you’d think they’d be at church.”
The noise is not only frequent, residents say, but also unpredictable. They report sessions beginning as early as 7:30 am on weekdays, continuing past dinnertime on others and occurring on weekends. One tenant whose bedroom window faces the cage said he worries about hearing damage. Another family, expecting their first child, has voiced concerns about raising an infant against the backdrop of the constant metallic echo.
When complaints first surfaced, residents contacted Warner Pacific’s interim president, Douglas S. Wade, and athletic director, Matt Gregg. Responses acknowledged concerns but stopped short of promising change. “We’ve gotten happy talk, but no action whatsoever,” Hudson said.
City code defines “unreasonable noise disturbances” as unlawful, with residential limits of 50 decibels at night and 55 during the day. Yet enforcement is limited: Portland’s Noise Office has only one investigator, and cases often take months to review. In the meantime, neighbors filed formal complaints but remain uncertain when, or if, the city will act.
In an email statement, Interim President Wade defended the facility as an important resource for students. “The batting cage was installed to provide our student-athletes with a safe and appropriate place to train on campus, allowing them to remain connected to their studies while reducing the need to travel offsite,” Wade wrote. “We have been mindful of our neighbors throughout this process. Practices occur during the day, and our student-athletes have made adjustments by using smash balls before and after business hours to reduce noise. As the weather changes, practices are moving indoors, further reducing outdoor use. We recognize that some concerns have been raised and are actively reviewing options to address them.”
Wade also emphasized Warner Pacific’s history and mission. “Warner Pacific is a Christ-centered, urban, ethnically diverse liberal arts university that has been part of the SE Portland community for generations. Our commitment is to provide safe and supportive resources for our students while preparing them to serve and lead with purpose, addressing the most pressing problems of the day in Portland and beyond.”
For many residents, these assurances have not been reflected in reality. They say usage of the cage has remained frequent and disruptive, with little sign of adjustments. “From my perspective, there’s no world where you put an outdoor batting cage in the middle of a neighborhood,” Meyer said. The solution is simple: “enclose it…If they build a building around it, problem solved…They can even use it year-round.”
The university’s relationship with neighbors has shifted in recent years, residents add. Under former president Andrea Cook, community issues were addressed quickly and directly. Since her retirement three years ago, that line of communication has waned. “You just had to let her know once, and it was solved within 24 hours,” Hudson said.
However, things might be looking up for the residents of the neighborhood. Hudson reported that they are set to meet with a planning consultant from the university in the coming days, who plans to then report possible solutions to the interim president in hopes of remedying the situation.
While nothing is known yet, one thing is certain: As fall fast approaches, colder weather will drive practices indoors, providing temporary relief, but the long-term contentions still stand. Without structural changes and long-standing communication between the college administration and the neighborhood that surrounds the campus, neighbors worry for next spring, when the ping of balls and bats might once again echo across SE 70th Ave.
Warner Pacific’s batting cages. Photo by Ron Meyer.
