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They built it, and you can bet they’ll come

Field of Hope opens Saturday for Challenger League kids

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Kids in Peachtree City’s Challenger League have been looking forward to Saturday morning for quite some time.

Shortly after the first pitch at 11:25 a.m., they will get to play their first game at their new home: the Fayette Field of Hope, which is located at the city’s Hwy. 74 South Baseball and Soccer complex.

The public is invited to attend, according to Field of Hope organizer Nick Harris.

Under the Challenger format, players get assistance from other able-bodied individuals and Saturday members of the McIntosh baseball team will play side-by-side with Challenger leaguers.

The field features a rubberized surface and other design elements so players who use wheelchairs and walkers will be able to get around easier than they would on a normal dirt-and-grass field.

“I think they’re excited,” Harris said of the 56 kids in the Challenger League. “It’s theirs.”

Harris said his son, Ethan, who is a Challenger League participant, already has his eye on hitting one out of the park, as the fences are a little closer than the fields the league has played on.

“They realize they can be real ballplayers now,” Harris said.

Adjacent to the Field of Hope is a normal baseball field for Little Leaguers so they can play alongside the Challenger League action. That was by design to allow Challenger League participants and their cohorts to be exposed to each other. The rules and format of the game are almost exactly the same in both leagues.

Harris lauded the community for chipping in on the fund-raising for the $750,000 complex. Many individuals and companies chipped in funds while others donated products and services in kind.

“It’s truly unbelievable what a community can do when they put their hearts and minds to it,” Harris said. “The community did this for us.”

That includes the unnamed contributor who stepped up and provided the last bit of money needed to finish the project, to the tune of about $75,000.

The four-and-a-half-year process has been arduous but will be well worth it, Harris said.

“There will be a lot of tears of joy from a lot of people,” Harris said.