The city of Mishawaka’s Parks and Recreation Foundation has paired up with The Miracle League to construct a new Miracle Field for individuals with disabilities. The new Miracle Field will be at Normain Heights Park. The city of Mishawaka strives to be inclusive of every patron, and the new Miracle Field will be a substantial stride toward that goal. Officials have said that a Miracle League Field will be a more condensed, specially designed field allowing individuals of all ages with a physical or cognitive disability to play baseball.
Mishawaka Parks and Recreation Superintendent Phil Blasko shared some insight on the field’s inspiration, saying the idea for a Miracle Field was introduced by a donor’s aspiration for every individual with a disability to have an environment where they can play baseball.
“The vision always was to find a way to build a park to allow everyone to call it home, with something to do no matter their ability,” Blasko said.
The first phase of renovations for Normain Heights Park is building the Miracle Field, as well as a regulation softball diamond. Phase one also will include a new restroom, a handicap-accessible parking area, and the possibility of a new playground for every child to enjoy.
“We want to make sure that this project will thrive after it’s built,” Blasko said. “We want this to positively affect all that have any type of disability so they can say, ‘I can play a sport.'”
During October 2023, Mishawaka’s Parks Foundation kicked off its fundraising campaign in hopes of raising $1.6 million for the first phase of the park’s renovation and improvements. Local non-profit agencies are also working with the city on the Miracle Field.
“This is going to help us engage in a whole new group of people we never met before, because we are going to have a program for them, a playground for them,” Blasko said. “It’s a lot bigger than the game of baseball.”
Normain Heights Park is south of the housing development along East McKinley Avenue, east of Main Street. The homes were built to accommodate many veterans in search of affordable housing after their return from World War II. There are over 80,000 people in the area that will benefit from the renovations.
The improvements of Normain Heights Park will be an incredible asset for the community and will support Mishawaka’s ambitious standards for citizens’ quality of life. With the amount of support the development of the field has had, Blasko says he hopes the project’s construction to begin in the spring. If the project gets a bid, it is possible for the completion of phase one to be open in fall 2025, but only time will tell.
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