Miracle League to Break Ground on New Sports Complex

Two and a half years of fundraising will culminate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Miracle League of Northampton's new playing field tonight.

"We’re finally able to break ground," said Debbi Katz, who is on the board of directors. "We're extremely excited."

The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. and the organization will serve light refreshments afterwards.

The complex is the first of its kind in the Bucks County area, with the closest similar complex in Hamilton, NJ. The field will be rubberized for ease of mobility for wheelchairs and walkers and everything down to the dugouts will be handicap accessible, Katz said.

There will be two fields in the Municipal Park complex. One will be for softball, almost exclusively, and the other as a multipurpose field for many sports including soccer, football, bocce and even track, Katz said.

"I foresee that this field can be used for people with physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as senior citizens and even those with visual impairments," she said, adding the league uses a special ball that beeps so people who can't see the ball coming towards them can still hear it.

Katz said the league hopes to begin actual construction in August and have it completed by the end of 2011 or the beginning of next season, at the latest.

The new fields will be a place where the league athletes, 110 of them and growing, will have a chance to have the same athletic experiences as their peers, according to a press release.

Northampton Township officials have been particularly active in making the Miracle League's dream a reality. They "bent over backwards to try and make this happen," Katz said. 

Though the league has raised almost $1 million, enough money to build the field, the organization is still in need of donations to put in the "bells and whistles" for the fields, she said.

The public can donate online or through the buy-a-brick program, and the league is developing a sponsorship program with naming rights as well.