Arizona children with special needs and their families now have a safe place to enjoy America’s favorite pastime.

Special-needs children in Arizona now have a safe place to play ball thanks to the Miracle League of Arizona.

This spring, Ewing Irrigation contributed to the new Dan Haren Miracle League Field in Scottsdale, Ariz. with the donation of a water-efficient irrigation system for the turf, trees and desert landscaping around the field.

Ewing President, Doug York, also enlisted the help of DTR Landscape Development for the landscape construction. Owner, Dick Roberts, said he was happy to contribute.

Roberts saw the benefits of the field firsthand, as a girl with cerebral palsy ran the bases for the first time.

“Her face lit up,” Roberts said.

Ewing’s contribution to the landscape included about $5,000 in irrigation and other landscape products. Hunter Industries also donated water-efficient MP Rotators and an I-CORE controller with flow sensing capabilities. Plant material was provided by Southwest Sod and Baseline Trees.

Mike Gausden, West Division Manager of Hunt Construction, one of the major contributing businesses, said suppliers and vendors like Ewing contributed a total of $300,000 of in-kind materials for the project.

“Thank you for stepping up and contributing to this,” Gausden said. “It’s a real credit to our industry.”

The Dan Haren Miracle League Field’s inaugural season began in April. The idea for the field was sparked in 2008 when Los Angeles Angel’s pitcher Dan Haren, then an Arizona Diamondbacks player, told his father, Dan Haren Sr., that he wanted to do something to benefit the community.

Haren Sr. then founded the Miracle League of Arizona with the purpose of giving children with physical and mental challenges the opportunity to play baseball. Though the fundraising efforts were difficult, various community organizations helped the Miracle League raise $1.7 million for the field in just 3 years.

Now the Miracle Field allows athletes with special needs to share in the love of the game he has had since childhood, Haren Jr. said.

“Hopefully these kids can feel how I do when I put on a uniform.”

Among the founding contributors is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Miracle Field is the 30th youth field and the third adaptive field built with the help of the Diamondbacks' youth field-building program.

“This one is like no other,” said Derrick Hall, President of the Arizona Diamondbacks, at the grand opening in March. Rubberized flooring used for the infield and outfield create a safe, smooth surface for wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Other park features include accessible parking and social areas, and plenty of spectator bleachers.

The Miracle League of Arizona is currently still raising funds to finish the shade structures and painting of the stadium.