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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Cooper: Room for several Fields of Dreams?

Henry Slayton, then vice president of the Howard Alumni Association, points out where flood waters crested on the Gaston Stadium walls in 2013.
Henry Slayton, then vice president of the Howard Alumni Association, points out where flood waters crested on the Gaston Stadium walls in 2013. Henry Slayton, then vice president of the Howard Alumni Association, points out where flood waters crested on the Gaston Stadium walls in 2013.

What a delight it will be when children with physical and mental disabilities soon have their own Miracle Field at Warner Park. With right-sized dimensions, special turf and assistive accommodations, it will be easier for these children to play America’s game of baseball.

With a groundbreaking Wednesday and the field already $750,000 paid for, thanks to $250,000 donations from the Downtown Rotary Club, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Berkshire Hathaway Realty Center, it is expected to be completed this fall.

It will be managed by the YMCA and will have its own director.

Anyone who watches, volunteers or participates in games at this Miracle Field will leave with a smile, a gladdened heart and maybe even a changed perspective after watching such a beehive of happy activity.

In another part of downtown, Howard School is still waiting for its miracle. For decades, really, it has wanted to leave its old, sometimes-flooded, built-on-a-landfill Gaston Stadium and even has the land on which to build a new facility.