Miracle League of New Albany to open baseball stadium accessible to all

Four years ago, Dr. Kevin Klingele was invited to watch one of his patients play in a youth league baseball game. 

But it wasn't a typical trip to the sandlot.

The game, held at Darree Fields in Dublin, was organized by the Miracle League of Central Ohio. The nonprofit group built the baseball field for children and adults with mental and physical challenges in Greater Columbus. Young athletes are teamed up with teens and adults who serve as “buddies” during the games.

By the time he got home to his New Albany residence, the chief of orthopedic surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital knew he wanted to create a similar baseball field for the kids in his community. 

"That weekend, what we saw was the effect it had on the players, but also on the community and volunteers," said Klingele, 51. "And we wanted to service the northeast side of town and all of Columbus and further out east because there's just a huge need and demand for this type of thing." 

Klingele went on to create a nonprofit organization for the project called the Miracle League of New Albany. Then he enlisted the help of his wife, Molly, as well as friends and parents of patients who are involved in other Miracle Leagues to form a board for the organization. 

Soon, Klingele will see his vision come to fruition when the Miracle League has its grand opening on Oct. 2. The event, which begins at noon, will feature at least two baseball games, he said. 

Field of dreams 

Since coming up with the idea for the Miracle League of New Albany (namiracleleague.org) in 2017, Klingele and the board have spent the last four years raising money for the $1 million project that includes a baseball field, grandstand, dugouts and video scoreboard.

Klingele said a Miracle League baseball field is different from a regular field in that it is smaller, has rubberized surfaces and is wheelchair accessible. 

In November 2017, the New Albany City Council approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Joe Stefanov to enter into a lease with the New Albany-Plain Local Joint Park District for 5 acres on the north side of Swickard Woods Boulevard. 

The lease cost the parks district a one-time, $10 fee, city spokesman Scott McAfee told ThisWeekNews in 2018. 

Park district director Dave Wharton told the Dispatch Tuesday that the lease was originally for 10 years, but has been extended to 20. The park district is subleasing it to the Miracle League. 

"It's become a perfect location for what we're trying to accomplish," Klingele said. "So, that was another piece of the project that enabled us to do what we're doing without having to spend money for the land." 

Among those providing support for the organization and field are Nationwide Children's Hospital, Advanced Drainage Systems and the Mirolo Charitable Foundation. (The field is named Mirolo Dream Field at ADS Stadium.)

Klingele said there were more than 150 donors within New Albany and more than 250 donors throughout Greater Columbus. 

Also volunteering to help was Groveport-based landscaping company Yard Solutions. About 60 employees spent the day Friday putting the final touches on the facility at 7620 Swickard Woods Boulevard planting trees and grass, and laying bricks around a large baseball on a pathway, company President Eric Remeis said. 

Remeis, who is a friend of Klingele and whose company works with New Albany to maintain its parks, said the company does not normally write checks for organizations, but crew members got involved by donating a day of landscaping the field. 

"Essentially, we told him that we would donate an entire day with our company, which I valued probably somewhere around $30,000 or $40,000," he said. "And so, I knew that money was an issue and I thought, 'Well, if we can't give him $40,000, we may as well save him $40,000.'"

A place for all kids to play 

The nonprofit's board president, Mike DiBlasi, said he and Klingele met when he was the president of Upper Arlington Bear Cub Baseball about five years ago. When DiBlasi found out about the Miracle League, he reached out Klingele to get involved. 

DiBlasi said the league is important to him because he has a younger brother, Jim, who grew up playing in the Special Olympics but not baseball because there was no Miracle League around. 

DiBlasi said Klingele is an "irreplaceable" person on the project. 

"Many of his patients play in Dublin's league or in Grove City's league and he had kids who played Little League baseball and he just saw the need that there's this whole underserved community that didn't have a place to play," he said. 

"It's surreal," DiBlasi said about the grand opening. "I can't wait to see the look on the kids' faces. They're gonna love it."

Now that the stadium is ready, opening day is slated to feature the baseball games, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, food trucks and an appearance from New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding. Local law enforcement officials will serve as buddies for one of the baseball games.

Klingele said about 40 players have registered for the league. He was unsure on the number of volunteers who will be at the event. 

Due to the pandemic, the opening day games will be the only event for the year. Klingele said he plans to start the first season of the league in the spring. 

The doctor has other hopes, too, as he aims to eventually add a second phase to the baseball field. It would include a playground, an outside fitness area and a family pavilion. He said the second phase likely would be one to two years down the road.

"We got the field finally built after four years of getting to this point," Klingele said. "We want to get the kids out there." 

mwalker@dispatch.com

@micah_walker701