Simplified: What started the year as an empty green space has been transformed into a baseball diamond thanks to an idea and a group of neighbors committed to making it all happen.
Why it matters
- Folks in the south-central Heather Ridge neighborhood started fundraising this spring after receiving a $12,000 grant from the city to help fund a baseball diamond in Prairie Meadows Park, located next to Harrisburg's Journey Elementary School.
- They started with a goal of $150,000, and they ended up raising $175,000, according to neighbor Emily Fink, including a five-figure donation from Sammons Financial and grassroots efforts to knock on doors in the neighborhood and solicit donations from local businesses.
- The new field – which officially opens this weekend – shows what can happen when the community rallies around a cause.
"When you have groups like this that want to be engaged, that want to partner with the city, it just allows us to accomplish so much more than we could do on tax dollars alone," Parks Planning and Project Manager Mike Patten said.
Tell me more
The field amenities include:
- fencing from third to first base,
- two team benches,
- agricultural lime dirt (essentially finely crushed limestone mixed with dirt) for the in-field,
- two sets of bases that can be moved depending on the desired distance,
- concrete to maintain ADA compliance for anyone who wants to get to the field as a spectator,
- and a batting cage.
The park will also feature a plaque commemorating Dane McCoy, a former baseball player and neighborhood resident who died at age 11 after a snowmobile accident in 2022.
What happens next?
The neighborhood is hosting an opening ceremony event Sunday afternoon.
- The event will run from 3 to 5 p.m., is open to the public and will feature food trucks, free ice cream (while supplies last), music, carnival games and a presentation from the mayor starting at 4 p.m.
