Rotary Club breaks ground on $270K baseball field

The Rotary Club of Springfield North and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board held a groundbreaking ceremony today for a $270,000 baseball field, which is designed for disabled children and young adults.

Miracle League field, set to be about one-third the size of a standard field, will be located in southwest Springfield at Dan Kinney Park, 2701 S. Blackman Road.

The Rotary Club donated the funding to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, which was gathered through fundraising efforts in conjunction with the park board, according to a park news release.

“We believe this field will be a major step toward Rotary’s goal of making dreams real," Rotary Club of Springfield North member Joe Stokes said in the release. "This gives children and young adults who have disabling health conditions a chance to play baseball or softball on a field built just for them."

Mike Freitas, project manager for Joplin-based R.E. Smith Construction, contractor for the project, said via phone that the field is scheduled to be completed for a September opening date.

The field would be designed under guidelines established by the National Miracle League Association, which sets standards for fields to be built with cushioned, rubberized surfaces, wheelchair accessible dugouts and flat surfaces, according to its Web site.