County's 1st Wheelchair-Accessible Baseball Fields Open For Play

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL — Players with special needs now have a baseball field that is wheelchair accessible, safer for play and allow more opportunities for children with special needs and mobility issues to play baseball.

Buddy Baseball in conjunction with the City of Temple Terrace celebrated the opening of the fields at the Temple Terrace Parks & Recreation's Family Recreation Complex at 6700 Whiteway Drive in Temple Terrace this month.

The state of Florida and Hillsborough County funded the project.

Buddy Baseball is a non-competitive recreational league for boys and girls age 8 and up with special needs where players are paired with a buddy to assist them on the field.

Each player is paired with a buddy to assist on the field and in the dugout. Buddy Baseball’s inaugural season began October 2009 through a dedicated group of volunteers attracting 36 players and 38 buddies to form six teams. At the start of the 21st season in September 2019, the league had 20 teams with more than 100 different schools participating.

Since the league’s inception in 2009, the league has been playing on traditional clay and sod softball fields, which can be challenging for children with mobility issues.

Currently, there are no other synthetic turf baseball fields in Hillsborough County for children with special needs.

“The need for these fields is evident by the growth of our league which has grown to 20 teams for each of our spring and fall seasons” said Russ Oberbroeckling, Buddy Baseball founder and executive director. “We’re overwhelmed by the support provided by our elected officials and the City of Temple Terrace to this much-needed project to create an even better setting where children with unique needs are understood and embraced.”