Palos Baseball Unveils Its Own Version of ‘Field of Dreams’
The 2011 Little League Baseball season is officially underway in Palos with the Palos Baseball Organization’s unveiling of their new ball field. This new field is a true one of a kind with more of a vintage feel then your traditional youth ballpark. “We wanted to make a real special field for the community”, said PBO president, Mike Lee. “This new field is the first one people see as they enter the complex from College Drive and is visible from the street, so it was real important to us to build something that the city could be proud of.”
The field was designed by local architect George Madaras who included some very unique features. Included are over sized brick dugouts complete with major league style players benches. A brick wall backstop connects each dugout topped with beveled limestone caps. To top it off, lights were installed so that the league could add some night games.
“The lights were a very important part of this project”, Lee said. “We are considered one of the premier youth baseball leagues in the Chicago area. Because of that, we are filled to capacity and feared that we would be forced to turn away some kids who wanted to play because we are simply out of field space.”
And how was this $150,000 project funded? It was done completely with fund-raising and volunteering. “I think that’s the thing I am most proud of,” Lee said. “We are 100% privately funded, volunteer organization. We have over 60 local businesses that sponsor the league and our over 650 players and 1,000 parent volunteers pitch in. Whether it’s selling raffle tickets, t-shirts. Thunderbolt tickets or working in our concession stand, every little bit helps. It’s a collective effort to build these nice things for our kids. If there are any improvements we want to the park, we fundraise, plan and then build it.”
Channel 4 coverage of the dedication
Palos Patch coverage of the dedication
TribLocal coverage of the new North Field