The expanse of flat, brown grass and dirt doesn’t look like a place where dreams materialize, but for Craig Mills, the humble field is a sign that miracles can happen.
Miracle League of Vancouver started in 2005, but didn’t play its first game until 2007. Over the years, it’s grown from an initial membership of 14 to around 140.
o Miracle League hopes to build a special rubberized field at Pacific Community Park, at an overall price tag of $2 million. The field would be made available to other groups when not used for Miracle League baseball.
o Cost to play: $35 per season.
o On the Web: Miracle League website.
Mills is the director of Miracle League of Vancouver, a nonprofit baseball league for people with disabilities. For years, the local league with national affiliation has tried to pin down a location to build specialty ball fields made out of a rubberized, latex-free surface that’s softer than traditional grass-and-dirt fields as well as being wheelchair accessible.
Miracle League of Vancouver started in 2005, but didn't play its first game until 2007. Over the years, it's grown from an initial membership of 14 to around 140.
o Miracle League hopes to build a special rubberized field at Pacific Community Park, at an overall price tag of $2 million. The field would be made available to other groups when not used for Miracle League baseball.
o Cost to play: $35 per season.
o On the Web: Miracle League website.
“It’s been difficult to find a location that works with us,” Mills said, “due to the kids and adults with disabilities.”
That changed last week when the Board of Clark County Commissioners approved a right-of-use agreement with Miracle League and the Vancouver Metro Senior Softball Association to build three baseball fields and a new playground at Pacific Community Park on Northeast 18th Street.
Miracle League plans to construct two special ball fields there — one that’s 125 feet from home plate to the outfield fence, the other 200 feet — while the senior softball league will build another traditional field that’s 300 feet. As part of the project, a new play area will be built, along with an expanded parking lot at Pacific Community Park’s east side.
Mills said the agreement is the realization of a dream, and the result of years of hard work.
Ten teams currently compete in the league, and roughly 140 people with various disabilities participate, including Mills’ grandchildren. He started with the volunteer-run organization four years ago. The league began playing games in 2007.
“Once I got involved, there was no turning back,” he said. “It grabs your heart, and moves on.”
But inadequate fields have posed problems. The league currently plays at Burton Elementary School’s ball fields, but it’s not an ideal situation.
Wheelchair-using players have difficulty navigating through the dirt and grass, especially when the weather turns foul and the field turns to mud.
A rubberized surface, similar to what’s used to make new running tracks, will be easier to navigate, and safer. The league attempted to have a rubberized field built at the Harmony Sports Complex a few years back before funding challenges deferred the dream.
It’s probably good that the project fell through at Harmony, Mills said. The sports complex has a tendency to be loud and busy, which causes sensory problems for people with autism.
A lack of money could still strike out Miracle League’s project, as well as the one from the senior softball league. In total, the expected price tag for the project is around $2 million.
The county is happy to have two nonprofits foot the bill for a ball field project that was written into the development of Pacific Community Park in the early 2000s. They were expected to be part of the second phase of the park’s development. Because of that, the site is essentially shovel-ready.
“This is a very good location,” said Scot Brantley, a project manager for county public works. “We don’t have to go through the whole development process, which could take years.”
The joint agreement between Miracle League, the softball association and the county for the use of Pacific Park ends a two-year process, Brantley said. And it means the nonprofits can start pitching themselves to prospective donors.
The one requirement is that more parking will have to be added to the east end of the park, where there’s currently a community garden.
Mills doesn’t know what will happen to the garden, or how the parking lot will be incorporated into the rest of the park.
He’s focused on raising enough money to break ground within the next two years, the deadline that’s been written into Miracle League’s agreement with the county.
He’s currently in talks with potential donors and is confident Miracle League will be able to front the money.
“My plan is to get it built by next year,” Mills said.
Some people might be skeptical of the tight time frame, but Mills said the fundraising process will be easy.
“They can laugh at me,” he said. “I’ll be laughing when I cash the check.”
