Breaking Ground for Kids!

On Tuesday, October 17, Royals third baseman Mark Teahen traded in his bat for a shovel to help break ground for the Challenger Sports Complex.

Teahen, the official spokesperson for the YMCA Challenger Division of Little League Baseball, joined Royals President Dan Glass and his wife, Penny, contributors Fred and Shirley Pryor, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green and his wife, Julie, for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the complex that is scheduled to be complete for the summer 2007 season.

The complex, located at the intersection of Interstate 169 and Highway 152 in Kansas City, is the result of a year-long fundraising effort by Royals Charities, the YMCA of Greater Kansas City and students from William Jewell College’s Pryor Leadership Studies program to give all children the opportunity to play baseball and other sports.

The Challenger Sports Complex, which features specially designed baseball fields made with a synthetic turf playing surface to accommodate wheelchairs and other assistive devices, coincides with the efforts of the Challenger Division of Little League Baseball. Established in 1989, the Challenger Division works to remove the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field.