Phoenix is building a new softball field designed to accommodate players who use wheelchairs, giving the city's disability community a dedicated diamond built around their needs. The project would place Phoenix among a small number of U.S. cities with fields constructed specifically for wheelchair softball.
According to 12News, the field is located in Phoenix and is designed for people with disabilities, including players who use wheelchairs. A Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board packet includes the complete agenda item describing the field renovation at Telephone Pioneers of America Park, per a Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board packet.
Telephone Pioneers of America Park already carries history with Phoenix's disability community. The city's adaptive recreation page notes the park itself was built through community donations under the leadership of the volunteer organization Telephone Pioneers of America, and the park currently features two beep baseball fields, a therapeutic heated pool, a wheelchair-accessible playground, an 18-station exercise course, and courts for racquetball, volleyball, tennis and basketball, along with shuffleboard, according to the City of Phoenix.
Why Dedicated Fields Matter for Wheelchair Softball
Fields built specifically for wheelchair softball are uncommon and expensive. The National Wheelchair Softball Association says these fields are built using specifications designed by the organization and cost generally over $400,000, according to the National Wheelchair Softball Association. The organization also says concrete, asphalt or other hard surfaces are preferred in wheelchair softball to maximize the performance abilities of the players, a notable departure from the grass-and-dirt diamonds most softball leagues use.
That preference traces back three decades. The first dedicated field for wheelchair softball was built in 1996 by the City of Pasadena at the Verne Cox Center in Pasadena, Texas, the association notes — before that, the sport was largely played on asphalt and concrete parking lots. Dedicated fields also tend to do double duty, supporting other outdoor adaptive sports activities including Miracle Leagues, the organization says.
Arizona's Existing Wheelchair Softball Scene
Phoenix already has an active wheelchair softball community through Ability360's Wheelchair Diamondbacks, a team that has seen considerable growth in its first four years, according to Ability360. The Diamondbacks currently practice at Miracle League Arizona. The sport itself requires specialized equipment at the plate: players use blocks or cages that help hold the wheelchair in place when a batter is up, per the same account.
Teams like the Diamondbacks compete nationally each August at the Wheelchair Softball World Series, which brings together multiple teams from across the country in New Lenox, just outside Chicago, Ability360 reports. A dedicated Phoenix field would give local players a home venue built to the sport's specifications rather than a retrofitted or borrowed space.
What Other Cities Have Spent on Similar Projects
Other metro areas offer a sense of what dedicated adaptive fields can cost and how they're funded. In Lakewood, Colorado, Jason Jennings Adaptive Field is described as the lone baseball diamond in Colorado with a rubberized surface, according to The Denver Post. Built in 2006, the field's initial construction drew about $400,000 raised by former MLB pitcher Jason Jennings, the Colorado Rockies and private donors, the newspaper reported. A later resurfacing project there cost about $350,000, split 60% from private donations and 40% from the Foothills Parks and Recreation District.
The Denver-area field supports the Miracle League of Metro Denver, which in a normal year has upwards of 125 players across two leagues and runs both spring and fall seasons, per the same report. At one point, the district and the Miracle League were weighing an even larger inclusive complex — an accessible dirt field plus a pavilion with bathrooms and a concession stand — that could have required up to $1 million to build.
