{"id":139060,"date":"2026-01-31T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/139060\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:46:07","slug":"orlando-special-needs-baseball-league-enjoys-new-field-that-community-helped-replace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/139060\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando special-needs baseball league enjoys new field that community helped replace"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Cheers and applause filled the air at Trotters Park this week as players stepped onto a brand-new Miracle League baseball field, marking a long-awaited comeback for a league that was once on the brink of losing its home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Central Florida Miracle League, which serves children and adults with disabilities, celebrated the grand reopening of its field after a complete turf replacement<\/a>. Just months ago, the league faced the possibility of shutting down games altogether due to unsafe conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe field before this field was 20 years old, and it was on its last legs six years ago,\u201d said Mike Houlihan, president of the Central Florida Miracle League. \u201cWe had a time standpoint there where if we didn\u2019t change the field out, we were going to have to disband the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it\u2019s FREE)<\/a> | PINIT! Share your photos<\/a>] <\/p>\n

For years, the field had been the heart of the Miracle League, offering athletes a rare chance to play baseball in an inclusive environment. But behind the smiles, the surface was deteriorating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were walking through this about two months ago, you would be amazed at how poor the field was,\u201d Houlihan said. \u201cThe field would not drain, so it was always flooded. It had big chunks out of it. It\u2019s hard to get wheelchairs across it. It became a safety issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deteriorating turf, potholes and drainage problems made it difficult \u2014 and at times dangerous \u2014 for players using wheelchairs or mobility devices.<\/p>\n

News 6 first highlighted those conditions in earlier reporting by former anchor Justin Warmoth<\/a>, revealing how close the Miracle League was to losing access to the field altogether. That coverage helped spark renewed attention and community urgency.<\/p>\n

Donations soon followed.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTrying our community is a big goal of mine,\u201d said donor Jesse Eisner. \u201cI called up my business partner and said, they need $80,000. Instead of doing this in pieces, let\u2019s just get it going so they can get this right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

One donor became many. Contributions ranged from small individual gifts to large donations, all helping fund the full turf replacement.<\/p>\n

[WATCH: Orlando special needs baseball league replaces unsafe field thanks to community donations]<\/p>\n

The new surface offers more than just a fresh look. According to league leaders, the turf stays about 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding air temperature \u2014 a significant improvement for players who are especially vulnerable to heat.<\/p>\n

The redesign also improves wheelchair accessibility and overall safety, allowing more athletes to fully participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing what it was and to what it is now is just amazing,\u201d Eisner said.<\/p>\n

For players like Jake Jennings, the difference is obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it \u2014 better and better and better than the previous field,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n

The transformation was evident as players rolled and ran across the field during reopening festivities, a sharp contrast to the damaged surface News 6 showed viewers just months earlier.<\/p>\n

Despite the progress, league leaders say the work is not finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the field is important, but our next project is accessible bathrooms, which we don\u2019t have,\u201d Houlihan said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re raising funds right now for accessible bathrooms for wheelchairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Anna Eskamani said accessibility must go beyond the playing surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure that the park is accessible in all ways,\u201d Eskamani said. \u201cThere\u2019s a larger conversation to have with the city around disability parking spots and making sure there are enough opportunities. The bathrooms also need to be more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Houlihan, the mission remains simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone deserves to play baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether you\u2019re in a wheelchair, whatever ailment you have, everybody deserves to play baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miracle League hopes the same community support that saved the field will help complete the next phase of accessibility improvements.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Cheers and applause filled the air at Trotters Park this week as players stepped onto…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3816,28588,67756,1335,139,141,140,13086,110],"class_list":["post-139060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-baseball","tag-local-sports","tag-miracle-league","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-softball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}