After more than 10 years in the making, Columbus’ field of dreams is close to becoming a reality.
This week, both the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors and the Columbus City Council pledged financial support to the project. Golden Triangle Outdoors, a local non-profit that offers outdoor activities to disabled citizens, has sought for years to gain support from local governments while it pushes for grants and private fundraising.
Supervisors on Monday agreed to allocate $50,000 each year, starting this year, until the project is completed. The city council voted to give $50,000 this year and another $50,000 each for the next two years, with the stipulation that the facility is built in Propst Park, as initially planned.
Golden Triangle Outdoors will hold a meeting, currently scheduled for Feb. 20, with its board and members to formally decide on the location.
Debbie Taylor, the group’s treasurer, said more than the donations alone, the commitment from the city and county should make it easier to find additional funding sources for the anticipated $350,000-$400,000 needed for the park.
“What it allows us to do is have something in writing that we can take and apply for grants,” Taylor said. “When we go to apply for grants, they always want to know where our other funding is coming from. Up until this point, we have not been able to tell them — we’ve told them the city and county are behind us, and they’ll ask how much they’re going to put in.
“Now we have a firm amount that we know they’re going to put in,” she added.
Taylor said she is already working on a grant application for up to $100,000. Additionally, Golden Triangle Outdoors has already raised about $100,000 in private donations, she said, and will get in-kind services from local contractors once construction begins on the field.
Mike Smith, a former Lowndes County supervisor (2004-08) and current Golden Triangle Outdoors president, has advocated for the field since 2004. He said he’s thrilled to see so much progress in a week.
“Hopefully we’ll get to turn some dirt this summer,” Smith said. “I met with (Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority Director) Greg Lewis (Wednesday) morning, and we’re going to sit down with some engineers and get a committee together and start seeing what direction and how we need to start doing this.”
The facility, which has colloquially been called the Field of Dreams since Smith began pushing for it, will likely formally be called the Miracle League Field. Golden Triangle Outdoor joined the Miracle League, a national organization committed to providing baseball opportunities for disabled youth and adults, about three years ago, Taylor said. The group is using a Miracle League design for the field.
The field will have a special surface that drains faster than dirt to make it easier for players in wheelchairs to use the field after a rain. Taylor said the field will also be slightly padded, and everything, including dugouts, will be wheelchair and scooter accessible.
“It will be a bright, cheery place where they’ll be able to go with their peers and just have a good time,” she said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.