The infield will be made of wheelchair-friendly vulcanized rubber, bases will be flat and dugouts and other features will be wider than normal so that anyone can use them in project being funded by the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays.
By David Rider, City Hall Bureau Chief
Harry Barberian has dreams of a field where anyone with any level of physical or mental ability can play barrier-free team baseball.
On Tuesday, the teenager with cerebral palsy was thrilled to help announce that dream will be a reality with Toronto’s first fully accessible baseball diamond.
“I see so many kids in my position who are not active in sport and who become isolated and I think to myself, ‘What if they had a chance to play on a team?’ ” Barberian told dignitaries and reporters at Highview Park, near Birchmount Rd. and Danforth Ave., as kids from nearby Variety Village played games.
“Everyone has the right to play and this ballpark will allow kids of all abilities a chance to feel great about themselves, and to experience the thrill of rounding the bases. I can’t wait to see our field of dreams come to life.”
The field will have an infield made of wheelchair-friendly vulcanized rubber. Bases will be flat. Dugouts and other features will be wider than normal so that anyone can use them. Ample disabled parking will be nearby.
Jays Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays, has pledged $1 million to launch the project, which will also see an aging playground in the sprawling Scarborough park upgraded and made fully accessible. Pathways and washrooms will be improved.
A City of Toronto spokesman said the total cost of the makeover could reach $2 million, but it will happen at little or no cost to the city because the Jays Care Foundation has agreed to fundraise the remainder and support programming at the public park.
Construction could start next year but no completion date has been set, added the parks department’s Matthew Cutler.
Robert Witchel, Jays Care executive director, said Toronto is following the lead of Vancouver, Moncton and Ottawa in building fully accessible baseball facilities. The park was chosen partly because of its proximity to Variety Village, a health, fitness and life skills centre for all ages and abilities.
About 2,500 physically and/or mentally challenged youths across Canada play in the foundation’s Challenger baseball program — for many, their only chance to be on a sports team, Witchel said.
Baseball gives them a way to be active and healthy but also teaches resilience and self-confidence, Witchel said, adding the Jays Care Foundation would “love” to partner with the city on other accessible fields if Highview Park proves busy and successful.
Barberian, a grandson of Barberian’s Steak House founder Harry Barberian, said he has played catch with family members but the new field will give him and others an important new opportunity.
“We’re going to change the way kids think of baseball, not just for those who can stand, but for those with all different disabilities and abilities,” he said in an interview.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do, when it comes to the stigma of disability versus ability — it really doesn’t matter. If you’re having fun and you can play, that’s all that matters.”