Baseball-loving Peachlanders were celebrating Sunday upon learning that an old sports field will soon get a new lease on life.
The Turner Park diamond in Peachland was chosen as one of 15 Canadian cities in the Toronto Blue Jays Field of Dreams program, meaning it is the recipient of around $50,000. It was the only B.C. city chosen.
The grant was announced live on TSN at 10 a.m. and nearly 100 parents and children filed into the Peachland community centre gym watching the announcement on a big screen TV, Coun. Randey Brophy said in an online post.
The grant will complement the $50,000 budgeted to develop Turner Park for baseball, softball and soccer this year and will be used to replace the existing backstop, dugout and bleachers.
Work has already begun at the new site and should be completed late summer with Turner Park ready for Little League, youth soccer and adult softball by next season, which starts April 2024
Field Of Dreams is Jays Care’s granting program for infrastructure dedicated to youth life-skill development and physical activity.
The Field Of Dreams program provides funding to design, refurbish and build safe spaces for children and youth to play baseball, develop life skills and learn from positive role models. In the past 10 years, Jays Care has committed more than $15 million in 145 safe spaces across 10 provinces and two territories.