BATESVILLE — The Batesville Parks and Recreation Department is working with the Miracle League of Arkansas to find property to build a baseball field for special-needs players.
“We are actively looking right now,” said Jeff Owens, parks director. “We may stumble on it on Monday; it may be a month from now. There are a couple of places in mind we’re kind of exploring.”
He said Peggy McCall of Little Rock, executive director of the Miracle League of Arkansas, first approached Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh with the idea.
“She came up a couple of years ago, and we were in the middle of building our community center. The mayor said, ‘Let us get our community center open, and come back,’ and she did,” Owens said. The Batesville Community Center and Aquatics Park opened June 9, 2017.
McCall made a presentation in March to the Batesville City Council.
“We’ve started working with [the Miracle League of Arkansas], trying to find an appropriate piece of land,” Owens said. “We may own it; we may not.”
McCall said last week that the City Council “is very in favor of [the ballfield], and they have lots of options there, so we’ve just got to pick [a site] that we both agree on. It won’t be long until we have decided the best location for it.”
She has some preferences for the site.
“I’d like it to be in an area that it has to be super easy for parents to find because we will draw parents from out of town,” McCall said.
She also said the Miracle League field should be close to businesses so parents can shop and have lunch.
“A Miracle League can stimulate the economy in a community if you place the ballfield right,” McCall said.
Owens said that when McCall approached him with the idea, his first thought was to convert one of the ballfields and put down turf to make it a “double-use” field.
“Unfortunately, the turf does not work well for wheelchairs, so that just got taken off the board,” he said. “That was Plan A; now we’re looking at Plan B.”
The Miracle League field will be barrier-free — the turf is a rubber surface, and the bases are painted on to avoid tripping hazards for children in wheelchairs or with physical disabilities.
The design of the baseball field will depend on the size and layout of the property. He said a size of 2 1/2 to 3 acres is preferred.
“We want to have sufficient parking,” he said.
Owens also said the plan is to build an Americans With Disabilities Act handicapped-accessible playground next to the Miracle League field, adding that Batesville doesn’t have a playground that is “fully, 100 percent ADA-accessible.”
He said the cost of the field will depend on the site and if dirt work or other improvements are needed.
“Money is always an object,” he said. “There’s a lot of support already. We’ve had some people who are going to make generous contributions to this field.”
McCall said the field is expected to cost $500,000 to $600,000, although some cities spend more on their Miracle League fields. She said a small ADA-accessible playground in Little Rock cost an additional $150,000.
McCall said cities can build a field under the umbrella of the Miracle League of Arkansas, which was formed about 14 years ago, or build it on their own through a civic club or other 501(c)(3) for donations to be tax-deductible. Every Miracle League field has to join the national organization, which requires a fee of $500 each year.
“If they do it under our umbrella, we go in and raise the money, manage the build,” and afterward, the Arkansas office finds volunteers and manages the website, she said.
The Miracle League of Arkansas oversaw construction of the fields in Little Rock and Springdale. McCall said she has volunteers in those cities who run the concession stands, sell T-shirts, etc. McCall said she meets with them “a couple of times a year” to see how they are operating and if they have suggestions.
“I’ll do that with Batesville, too,” she said.
She said the Miracle League of Arkansas has a master plan to see where Miracle Leagues are needed across the state.
“There’s not a pocket in the state that doesn’t need a Miracle League field,” she said. “We’ve done research to find out what communities could support it, not only with the funding piece but with the community owning the project and having the right volunteers.”
She said the Miracle League of Arkansas is part of the national organization. Some Miracle Leagues only have Single A buddy teams, in which a volunteer assists the player.
“Everybody gets on base; everybody scores a run,” she said. Other leagues, including Little Rock, have expanded to include adult and competitive levels.
Players may start as young as 4, and she said an 83-year-old plays on a Little Rock team.
Owens said the field will be a nice addition to the community.
“It’s just a great thing; these kids need every opportunity to play just like able-bodied children,” he said. “The city leadership, as well as mine — we’re all excited about the possibility of getting [the field] here, and we’re doing our best to make it a reality.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.