Work Begins At Toms River Field Of Dreams Site

TOMS RIVER, NJ — It's been two years of hard work, but a cherished dream is becoming a reality: the Toms River Field of Dreams is under construction.

Crews began clearing trees from the 3.1-acre site at the Bey Lea Park complex last week. The work began just days after the township signed an agreement with Christian Kane, the founder of Toms River Field of Dreams, to lease property at the park to the foundation for the facility.

Kane is a Toms River resident and teacher at Toms River North whose young son was severely injured in a car accident in 2012. He was inspired to try to create a place that offers special needs children a unique experience after watching his older son playing Little League baseball and realizing Toms River did not have a baseball field for special needs children like his son, Gavin.

Gavin suffered a head injury in a July 2012 crash on Bey Lea Road, a Patch report said. Kane was driving a van with Gavin in a child safety seat in the back seat when they were rear-ended by a delivery truck.

Kane's efforts to create the facility began in early 2017, and have blossomed quickly. The plans include a state-of-the-art all-inclusive playground, a baseball field and courts for basketball, bocce and shuffleboard. Also planned is a mini golf course, a walking path with rehabilitative fitness stations along its length, a temperature-controlled pavilion, a quiet corner, and a complimentary snack shack, according to the project website.

You can take virtual tour here:

RWJ Barnabas Health is the official sponsor of the project. Ocean Orthopedics Associates recently was awarded naming rights to the complex. And the list of other sponsors is lengthy.

Jersey Mike’s took on the naming rights of the snack shack; ReMax Revolution sponsored the baseball field, and Major League Baseball star Todd Frazier is supporting the special needs baseball league that will use it. Pine Belt Enterprise Auto Group has donated to the playground, and the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation has given to the golf course that will be part of the complex. Josh Blair, who owns a local mortgage company, is backing the basketball, bocce and shuffleboard courts. The Citta Foundation has given funds to support the pavilion. The Point Pleasant Beach Rotarians have sponsored the Strive to Thrive Fitness Station, and the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation is sponsoring the walking path. The Florian J Lombardi Foundation is sponsoring the quiet corner.

Other major supporters listed on the Toms River Field of Dreams website include Lucky Leo's Amusement Arcade, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Toms River, the Kelaher, Van Dyke & Moriarty law firm, McDonald's and the Belby and Chapman Family.

Funding the construction is only part of the effort; a capital campaign is under way and a GoFundme campaign, to support ongoing upkeep once the construction is completed. A casino night is set for this Saturday, March 16, to raise funds for the capital campaign.

"After the completion of the complex, our hope is to increase awareness of our special needs community and provide an inclusive environment in which all can play and interact together," the organization's website says.

The clearing of trees at the site was a tangible sign of progress, however. NJ Site & Utility Contractors of Jackson donated its time and equipment to do the work, Toms River Field of Dreams organizers said.

On Feb. 28, Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher and Kane signed the lease agreement for $1 per year for Toms River Field of Dreams to lease the parcel from the township.

The hope, Kane said, is to create a facility that offers special needs children a unique experience, with baseball as its centerpiece.

"Imagine watching your son or daughter, who physically can't be mobile in a wheelchair on dirt, be able to play a two-inning baseball game?" Kane said in an initial video created to promote the project. The hope is the facility will turn into a place of hours of fun for a family, and a model for communities throughout the area.

See the groundbreaking ceremony below:

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