UPDATE, April 1 from George Vancore, Field of Dreams Board of Directors:

It is with great disappointment that our Field of Dreams Board of Directors has made the decision to cancel our games that were to be played at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on this Saturday, April 2, 2016. This was a very hard decision for us to make but given the weather forecasts for Saturday and keeping the safety of our players safety first and foremost in mind, we came to the realization that this decision is the correct one at this time.

We also needed to consider our great sponsors and their willingness to help us with food donations, bus transportation for our Buddies and the number of volunteers from across our communities that would need prior notification.

Going forward, we will work closely with Mr. Ken Babby and the entire Suns Organization to have a Field of Dreams Day again in the future and maybe even schedule a time where our players and their families can enjoy seeing the Jacksonville Suns in action – we will definitely keep all of you informed as this moves forward.

 

Original story follows:

By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com

On Saturday, April 2, for one day only, the Field of Dreams will take the field at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. In collaboration with the Jacksonville Suns, 148 members of the St. Johns County youth exceptional needs baseball league will play five games beginning at 10 a.m.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our league, our players, their families and our friends as we work with the new Jacksonville Suns ownership and leadership teams to provide our players with a very special day,” said George Vancore, Field of Dreams board member and league umpire.

The organization’s mission is to provide a safe environment for all special needs children where they can play sports and other related activities at no cost to them or to their families. There are over 200 such fields like the Field of Dreams throughout the United States.

The schedule on April 2 is as follows:

10 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Tampa Bay Rays/Detroit Tigers
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Cleveland Indians/Atlanta Braves
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: St Louis Cardinals/Boston Red Sox
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.: San Francisco Giants/New York Mets
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Cincinnati Reds/Pittsburgh Pirates

“We are so excited and can’t express our gratitude enough to Mr. Babby, the entire staff and all of the Suns players for making this day possible,” said Gene Kolisnyk, president of Field of Dreams.

In staying with the traditions of Field of Dreams, game-day concessions, parking in Lot P and entry into the facilities are free to all.

About Field of Dreams: Field of Dreams is a specially designed baseball field that will allow mentally or physically handicapped children the opportunity to play baseball, to wear a uniform and play as a member of a team – a place where all our area’s exceptional kids can meet on the field and play ball. For more information, contact Gene Kolisnyk at (904) 613-8005 or uke123@aol.com. Visit www.fodbaseball.com to learn more about Field of Dreams.

Photo by Ken Futch.

 

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