The not-for-profit fundraising arm of the Crystal Lake Park District wants to raise about $750,000 to build a wheelchair-accessible baseball diamond in a city park.
The diamond’s playing surface would be smaller than a regulation field and made of rubberized material. The field would be modeled after a diamond in suburban Atlanta, said Joel Aven, a member of the Crystal Lake Park Foundation.
Many disabled children play in special leagues on regular baseball diamonds that can be uneven and hazardous, as well as tough to navigate in a wheelchair, Aven said.
Jim Heil, park board president, said the district would make land available for the project, possibly in Lippold Park, south of Illinois Highway 176.
“We can accommodate them,” Heil said. “It’s a great idea.”
