BUTLER TWP — The Butler Lil' Tornados finally have a place to call home.

After opening the season Saturday afternoon against Pine-Richland at Art Bernardi Stadium, the second-year traveling football program will play its final three home games — Sept. 4, 11 and 18 — on the softball fields located by the high school gym.

Bill Halle, president of the three-team Lil' Tornados organization, put a proposal before the school board June 22 asking to play four home games on one of the Butler School District's fields.

"The board didn't act upon the request at first," board member Benjamin Holland admitted. "I supported this group from the beginning — just like I support our Butler Midget football program — because it's a positive thing for our community.

"They're taxpayers. Their parents helped pay for that stadium and the kids deserved to have a place to play."

The Lil' Tornados have teams for ages 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12. The overall program has 80 players and 40 cheerleaders.

The program eventually was given the softball fields to use. That offer was withdrawn at Monday's board meeting.

"We brought up safety issues about the (softball) fields originally," Halle said. "There were plugs where the bases were, fence support pipes sticking up. ... But we were willing to deal with them.

"After Monday's board meeting, I got word that the safety issues were too much and we couldn't have the fields."

The Lil' Tornados play in the United Youth Football League, a nine-program circuit that includes Pine-Richland, Shaler, Seneca Valley, Saxonburg, Hampton, Northgate, Highlands and Mars.

"No other team in our league had this kind of problem getting a field to play on in their hometown," Lil' Tornado assistant coach James Russell said.

Without a home field, the Lil' Tornados would have been forced to either forfeit their home games or to see if the opposing team's field was available that week.

During their debut season last year, the Lil' Tornados played a series of exhibition games, all on the road.

After Halle informed the parents Tuesday that they had no home field, his phone and the Butler administration office phones were flooded with calls from upset parents.

"They had to stop accepting calls, it got so bad," Halle said of the administration building.

One parent informed a Pittsburgh TV station of the dilemma. That station came to Butler and filed a report.

"Honestly, the situation was rectified before that news station came out here," Halle said.

Once the team was denied use of the softball fields, Butler superintendent of schools Edward Fink offered fields at Connoquenessing or Meridian elementary schools for use by the Lil' Tornados.

Halle and other coaches visited those sites and deemed them unplayable.

"They weren't even close, in terms of size or practicality, to play a football game on," he said.

Thursday night, Fink said the Lil' Tornados could use the softball fields after all.

"That was our mistake to pull the plug on those fields after we first told them they could use it," Holland said. "They met the liability coverage requirements to use our district facilities.

"I felt like we owed them a place to play. I'm glad this was rectified," he added.

Halle said only one support pipe would be on the field of play. It was plugged and covered with dirt. The baseline plugs came right out and aren't an issue.

"Our contention was always that the school district has four football fields — the stadium, intermediate field, intermediate practice field and the field in town — and none were scheduled to be in use at the times of our games," Halle said.

"But we're thankful to have a place for our kids to play ball. (Athletic director) Bill Mylan has been very helpful to us through all this. We're excited to be moving forward and providing a unified travel league football team for our community."

Fink and assistant superintendent Michael Strutt were unavailable for comment Friday.