'Field of Dreams' to Get Handicap Access

Many call Edgerly Field the "Field of Dreams," but for some people with physical handicaps it has been an unreachable dream.

The city is looking to change that by installing a new handicap ramp to the field pertched on a hill next to the high school.

The plan calls for a 26-foot ramp broken into three sections to be installed next to the staircase that leads from a road behind the high school to the field, Mayor Michael McGlynn said in a press conference July 30. The ramp should be installed in time for the fall high school sports season, McGlynn said.

The ramp comes at a cost of about $350,000, which the city has already secured, McGlynn said.

The synthetic turf field, which has been open for about a year, was paid for through a $2.1 million bond approved in 2010. It is used by high school sports programs and also rented out as a source of revenue.

Currently the only way to access the field is by going up the stairs or walking a long driveway that wraps around the field.

The ramp will be installed over rock and shrubs next to the stairs, which doesn't have great eye-appeal, McGlynn said.

“It’s aesthetically not very attractive,” he said.