West Seattle Little League is 2007 Recipient of $100,000 Grant

Annual Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant to be used to update Bar-S Playfield

09/25/2007 -- West Seattle Little League has been named recipient of the 2007 Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant. The $100,000 grant, awarded annually to fund improvements at youth baseball and softball fields in Washington state, will be presented during a pre-game ceremony on Friday, September 28, Fan Appreciation Night, when the Seattle Mariners take on the Texas Rangers (7:05 p.m.).

This is the 23rd year the grant has been awarded, thanks to the generosity of The Boeing Company, a longtime Mariners corporate partner, and Mariners Care, the team's non-profit foundation. Over the years, the grant has provided approximately $2 million to improve youth sports fields in the state.

This year's winner, West Seattle Little League, serves 300 kids from 5-18 years of age. They play on two fields at the Bar-S Playfield on Admiral Way in West Seattle. The fields are among only a handful in the Little League District that have grass infields. West Seattle Little League is in the midst of a four-phase renovation of the fields. Phase I, undertaken four years ago, resulted in upgraded existing and new bleachers, new backstop fencing, underground power and water lines, covers for dugouts and equipment for scorekeepers.

Over the next 14-months, Phase II work will improve access to parking and the fields for people with disabilities, replace rusting fences, improve field drainage, add warning tracks to both fields and build new weather-protected dugouts.

Future plans include permanent concession stands, an important source of revenue to support team activities, restrooms, storage, a batting cage, scoreboards, landscaping and further infield improvements.

Boeing's Bob Watt, vice president of State and Local Government Relations and Global Corporate Citizenship, said Boeing's investment helps to provide world-class facilities for everyone to enjoy and contributes to the overall well being of young people.

"Many of these young people are the sons, daughters and the grandchildren of our employees," Watt said. "Boeing is proud to continue supporting the Puget Sound Community, which is home to more than 72,000 Boeing employees. Our company proudly supports a broad range of charitable, educational, arts and social service programs that help make the communities we call home even better places to live."

"This annual program is a source of great pride for the Seattle Mariners. We are pleased we can partner with Boeing each year to help address one of the most critical needs in our communities, the shortage of safe, quality sports fields for our children," said Howard Lincoln, Seattle Mariners Chair and CEO.

West Seattle Little League president Rick Marksbury says improvements for disabled access, which the grant will help fund, are increasingly important. "We have grandparents, parents, friends struggling to get up stairs and get around on slippery grass. Everyone will benefit from these improvements," said Marksbury. He also cites planned improvements to concession stands, which provide 1/3 of the League's operating revenues, and new permanent restrooms, as important for the future of West Seattle Little League.

Last year's Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant was awarded to Sehmel Homestead Park near Gig Harbor. Other winners include Dahl Playfield in north Seattle, Starfire Sports in Tukwila, the City of Arlington and Arlington Little League, South Kitsap Little League in Port Orchard, and Pacific Little League in Lynnwood.

Source: MLB