Some members of Challenger Baseball attending Belleville city council, with Director Lisa Chesher seated behind them, October 10, 2017 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
The move is on to develop a fully accessible baseball diamond in the city of Belleville over the next couple of years.
Director of Challenger Baseball Lisa Chesher outlined the group’s project “Field of Dreams” to Belleville city council Monday night.
Chesher said the program is looking for a fully-accessible baseball diamond at Parkdale Veterans Park to replace the present site dirt field at Loyalist College which is difficult for the players who have special needs.
This would mean the city would have to develop a baseball diamond in Thurlow Ward to accommodate the Belleville Amateur Baseball Association requirements.
The special rubberized diamond for people with disabilities would cost between $400,000 and $600,000.
Chesher says the group has raised $20,000 and hopes to obtain funding through the Blue Jays baseball organization through the Jays Care Foundation.
She said the Foundation had given $1 million to Toronto for an accessible field.
Challenger Baseball has 55 local players from age 3 to 55 years old.
Chesher says the program is important to the players
The matter was referred to the city’s capital and operating budgets.
