Field of Dreams shines in debut

PONDERAY — Forget dreams; it's a reality.

With hundreds gathered, families picnicking, and kids playing soccer and lacrosse, Ponderay celebrated the grand opening of its Field of Dreams recreation complex Thursday.

"This is an honor to be standing here in this great, amazing facility that was a vision many years ago that we finally made happen," Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger said in welcoming officials, families and young athletes to the grand opening of the project's first phase.

The first phase includes four full-sized multi-sport fields that can be broken down into different configurations of smaller fields, a concession stand and infrastructure for the Field of Dreams complex, representing a $10 million investment.

Planned future phases include a pavilion, as well as nature and multi-use trails, a playground, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields and an indoor field house. Also, additional phases could include more picnic areas, expansion of the field house and event center, an indoor ice rink and, potentially, a pool.

"It's just an overwhelming feeling," Geiger said of looking over the sports field and kids playing on the newly completed first phase. "It took a lot of effort from a lot of people. I'm just honored to be here. … We listened to the community and this is the perfect example of our government listening to the people of our community about these types of projects and we made it happen."

Having the facility for the community's youth — as well as those in the region — is a result of planning, outreach and a lot of work, Geiger said. Conversations at events like the city's Neighbor Day celebration made it clear that the sports complex was a cherished dream and something needed by Ponderay's youth, officials said.

"This has just been something that has been wanted for so many years," Geiger said. "We've never given up. Our community, our council, everybody listened to the community. So it's just an amazing thing. In government, you have got to look out for our youth and you have got to provide things for the youth to have a better future."

Both Geiger and former mayor Carol Kunzeman said the community owes its gratitude to the city's voters for their support for the project and for approving the 1% local option tax five years ago, setting up a funding vehicle for the sports complex, as well as everyone who shops in the community.

Without the community's support of the local option tax, both Kunzeman and Geiger said it would not have been possible for the city, with an estimated $2 budget, to realize what amounts to a $10 million investment.

The dream of a regional sports complex in Ponderay has been around since 1993, when Floyd McGhee and Mike Read, on behalf of the Sandpoint Soccer Association, started work on what was then called the McGhee Sports Complex. In 1994, McGhee and Read were joined by others in creating the North Idaho/Ponderay Youth Sports Association, established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit to help raise funds toward the effort.

Under Kunzeman, the city acquired the property in 2011 with the assistance of the Panhandle Area Council. However, due to field conditions and the cost of development, the property has remained largely untouched over the years. Grant funding, including a $500,000 grant from the LOR Foundation, helped the city outline a proposal — and voter approval of a one-cent local option in 2019 has generated funding for the project.

Looking at the completed first phase of the Field of Dreams, the reality is even better than the vision dreamed up by McGhee and Read, Kunzeman said.

"They had the vision, and it's even better than we thought," the former Ponderay mayor said. "It's just incredible."

Walking up to the recreation complex, Kunzeman said she was in tears to see the vision turned into reality, no longer a dream.

It is, she said, so much more than what anyone dreamed it could be.

"This is the best part," Kunzeman said, looking at families enjoying a meal, kids playing lacrosse and soccer and the community checking out illustration boards of future phases of the project. "People here, enjoying themselves and kids being able to play. There's no place for all these children to play in Bonner County; there truly isn't. They kind of get lost in the shuffle, and if we can get enough things out here for them, I think it's just monumental what these kids can do."

Kunzeman paid credit to McGhee and Read as well as Geiger, council members and city staff for finding a way to make the project happen. 

"It's like (the city) won the lottery," Kunzeman said of the project and what it will mean for the community. "That's what it's like. They just won the lottery. I just don't have the words right now. … I'm just speechless."

Geiger estimated the project, which encompasses about 17-18 acres of the 50-acre site, is about 35% of what the Field of Dreams will look like if all phases of the project are built. The local option tax that funded the project is set to expire; however, Geiger said the city plans to put the measure on the ballot again this November.

"We want to continue with this," Geiger said. "We want to see this happen and we're going to need your support."

Geiger thanked project engineers HMH Engineering, project architects Bernardo Wills Architecture and contractor LaRiviere, Inc., for taking the community vision and turning it into reality.

"They've all worked very hard to make this happen and we really, truly appreciate them," Geiger said.

The Ponderay mayor also thanked the city's first responders, city staff and the community for their roles in the Field of Dreams.

"It's just an honor to be here today, standing here in front of you with this amazing facility that we've all helped put together," Geiger said. "Without their foresight and looking at the need for our community and all of the kids and families and everybody out here having fun, we probably wouldn't be standing here right now."

The daughters of Read and McGhee said both men would be thrilled to see the finished vision and kids playing on the sports field.

Mike Read would be tremendously proud to see his dream a reality, Natalie Read said on what her dad's reaction would be.

"This was his absolutely biggest dream of his life, and to the day he died, he wanted this to be something special," Natalie Read said.

Her dad grew up in a small village in England, with little to nothing for kids to play soccer or other sports. That's part of what fueled his passion for soccer and youth sports.

"They had nothing, and he wanted the kids to have something," she said. "He wanted kids to have a place to go play sports because he never got that as a kid."

Being able to come to the grand opening and represent her dad means a great deal.

"It's been it's really amazing to see how much has been done here," Read said. "I love it, especially from being a small kid and seeing where it was — just seeing where it is now. It's really cool. And I think my dad would be so proud of it."

Like Natalie Read, Bobbie McGhee was on hand to represent her father at the grand opening and celebrate her father's legacy to his beloved community. 

"He did this on a handshake," Bobbie McGhee said of her dad's pledge to sell the site to the city for a recreation facility. "And here we are, 30-some years later; it's unbelievable. This is awesome. I just wish he was still here and could see this. It's fantastic."

McGhee said she didn't know why it was so important to her dad; she just knew it was. He was adamant, she said, to be a part of the project, to ensure the children of his community had a place to go.

"He wanted them to have a place," McGhee said. "It just makes one cry with happiness."

    Ponderay officials and members of the Floyd McGhee and Mike Read families cut a ribbon to mark the formal opening of the Field of Dreams.
  

    Two youths practice their lacrosse skills at the grand opening of the Field of Dreams.