Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – The City of Warren Parks and Recreation Commission approved a motion to recommend the approval of a Miracle Field to City Council during their meeting on Tuesday.
The recommendation was made by a group dedicated to improving the local Little League challenger division and getting a field that is better suited to their needs.
The Miracle Field would solve that problem.
“This year, the challenger division was amazing,” said Jeremy Wyman, who has served on the Warren County Little League board for 10 years, with much of that time being spent as league president. “My main goal is for Warren County Little League to build growth in our league.”
Wyman noted that there were 434 kids in Warren County Little League in 2017. That number was at 653 this past year.
“We have a need for the challenger division to safely participate in baseball and softball,” Wyman said. “The fields we have now don’t meet those needs. Some of the kids we had this year had walking devices. Fields of a dirt nature just won’t support that. We formed this group to try and get something for the kids to be able to participate on our fields.”
Warren County Commissioner Jeff Eggleston noted that the estimated cost of the field would be about $500,000.
“That estimate is based on a lot of different conversations with folks who have built these fields,” Eggleston said. “We’ve been offered free preliminary engineering. Our intention, if given the green light, is to seek grant funding and a local match.”
Eggleston said that Betts Park, specifically Musante Field, would be the ideal site for the field.
“I’m confident we can get grant funding through DCNR and others,” Eggleston said. “We would love to take Musante Field and turn it into a ball field. The Lacy Park Multi-Sensory Playground is one of the most utilized in the city, and our hope is that this field would be as well.”
Adam Meneo of the Rotary Club was instrumental in raising the funds for the Lacy Park project and sees similar benefits to this proposal.
“We had a need in the area and we were able to fill that need,” Meneo said of Lacy Park.
Parks and Recreation Chairman Mike Suppa noted that the Betts Foundation has had concerns in the past about the overuse of the park, but the group has had preliminary discussions with the foundation, which have been positive.
“We want the approval of Betts, generally speaking,” Eggleston said. “All of the conversations we’ve had have been very positive. Having this integrated with the other ball fields is a huge show of support for the community and sports community.”
The next Warren City Council meeting is slated for Aug. 15.
