By Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter
Dallas, TX – Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 reporter: Charlie McKinney is a money manager, not an athlete. But his clients include Dallas Stars player Mike Modano and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. They started a celebrity baseball event for charity, where inner-city children also got to play in Frisco's minor league stadium. McKinney was inspired.
Charlie McKinney, Chairman, Little Heroes Foundation: We had inner city kids - different socio-economic backgrounds completely - playing on our team; and you could watch these eight year olds, and it didn't matter whether they lived in north Dallas or south Dallas - they were teammates, and that was what's beautiful about it.
Cuellar: So he helped form the Little Heroes Foundation to build a little league field for inner-city youth. McKinney chaired the group, and with The Todd Wagner Foundation, The Hoglund Foundation, The Mark Cuban Family, and Headington Oil & Gas, they raised more than $600,000 to construct and maintain the million dollar facility.
McKinney: One of the things we wanted to do is illustrate that our intentions are not to build this baseball park for wealthy north Dallas people.
Cuellar: In search of land, they approached Dallas parks and recreation director Paul Dyer, who encouraged them to consider Pike Park.
Paul Dyer, director of Dallas Parks and Recreation: Pike Park has always been a destination for inner-city kids downtown, and that has changed as the demographics have changed over the years, but certainly we still have projects adjacent to the facility. We also bring kids from other areas to the inner city and so we're trying to retain that site as an inner-city site.
Cuellar: Situated in the Little Mexico neighborhood near downtown Dallas, Pike Park is a landmark for the Mexican-American community. Catalina Valdez Scott has organized the Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis Mexican Independence celebrations there for almost 39 years.
Catalina Valdez Scott, community organizer: Pike Park was the first public park of the city of Dallas where the Mexican people were allowed to come in to play. That happened in 1931.
Cuellar: But for decades, park visitors dwindled while development encroached, almost forcing Pike to close in the late '60s and early '70s. In 2000, it was designated a historic landmark. Scott says little league will be good for the park.
Scott: This is a park - especially with a lot of people moving into downtown - this is a park that's centrally located for them to come and use it, so we're hoping that more people can come and use the park, because this is a park for everybody.
Cuellar: The new 500-seat stadium, adjacent to American Airlines Center, will be state of the art. Again, Little Heroes Chair Charlie McKinney:
McKinney: It's kind of a copy of Wrigley Field. The outfield wall will have ivy, sunken dugouts, raised pitching mounds, grass infields, foul poles, great scoreboards, stadium seating which is gonna be real cool - stadium seating as opposed to bench seating - pitching machines, batting cages, bullpens - I mean, a real baseball field, just microsized.
Cuellar: But Parks and Recreation director Paul Dyer says community involvement will be the key to the park's success.
Dyer: We're hopeful that the community associated with this particular facility will also pitch in and become sponsors and coaches and mentors for these young inner-city kids that we're working on providing this facility.
Cuellar: The Little Heroes Baseball Field will break ground at Pike Park in two weeks. For KERA 90.1, I'm Catherine Cuellar.