The town of DeWitt board has approved a $4 million bond that would go toward costs associated with the Willis Carrier Recreation Center, which will be home to the Challenger Baseball League and a hub for many other sport competitions in DeWitt.
“It truly is a community project for all of the right reasons,” said Dennis Cleary, president of Friends of the Town of DeWitt parks. “It will be an economic engine, bringing in thousands of kids and their families from all over the state to compete in many different sport competitions.”
The Willis Carrier Recreation Center project is planned to be the first outdoor, integrated multi-sports complex in the United States for youth that is designed for both the general public and the special needs community.
When the project was first proposed, the estimated cost was $10 million, but Cleary said that has increased to $11 million due to unforeseen circumstances. To date, Cleary said about $2.2 million has been raised by the Friends of the Town of DeWitt Parks, but having this $4 million bond through the town will allow fields and buildings of the facilities to be constructed.
The Carrier project has been in the works since 2010, when Carrier donated the land for the park to the town of DeWitt. It is planned to be an outdoor multi-sport facility that will provide the community with an all-inclusive playground, tennis court, basketball court, picnic pavilion, baseball, soccer, softball, lacrosse and football fields along with a nature walking trail.
The 28-acre property is bordered by Roby Avenue, Kinne Street and Grover Avenue, and is partially encased by woods. Approximately 20 acres would be used for the fields.
The project broke ground on the first phase in May 2013, which included draining and leveling the ground and preparing it for building and field installations.
In December, the project received a grant totaling $500,000 from the New York State Regional Economic Development Grants.
The remaining needed funds, totaling around $5 million, will be obtained through various fundraisers, and it is hoped that receiving this bond will hopefully help gain traction and attention from potential donors, said Cleary.
The park will also be home to the Challenger Baseball League, which consists of children ages five to 21 with various special needs, physical handicaps and developmental delays.
The Syracuse Challenger League is the largest in the country with over 250 children on 12 teams, said Dom Cambareri, program director of the Challenger League. This project would be critical in bridging the gap between other Little League teams and the Challenger League because all of the children would be able to play at the same time on the same fields, something Cambareri said wasn’t able to be done before.
“All the children see each other in school, doesn’t make difference if they’re able bodied or special needs — we shouldn’t limit that to the school setting,” Cambareri said. “We are at a time and age in our community where it’s important not to differentiate people and children based on their personal situation.”
According to Cambareri, they hope to fully open the fields by spring 2016.
“This is truly a win/win project, you are not only addressing the sport recreational needs of all families in the CNY community,” said Cambareri, “You’re creating a significant economic impact.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
