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Baseball Field
The Hays ARC Park playground, splash pad, and parking lot are all in the final stretches of completion. So that now leaves us with the final phase (the baseball field). The all turf baseball field will be accessible to individuals of all ages and abilities. The Hays ARC Park baseball field will be open to the public but will also be the home field to our local Special Olympics softball teams. The field will completely fenced with dugouts and will feature a completely flat playing surface. All bases will be flat to prevent risk of tripping.
What is the Hays Accessible Recreation Complex (Hays ARC Park)?
The Accessible Recreation Complex will provide safe, boundless play opportunities for individuals of all ages and all abilities in one accessible spot. The complex will include a fully accessible playground for limitless play, an all-ability turf baseball field, and a fully accessible recirculated splash pad. It will create opportunities for collaborative play and social interaction for children of all abilities, promoting inclusion in our community, creating a destination showpiece, and filling a need not currently met. Outdoor play stimulates speech, cognition, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and social skills more efficiently than any other method of instruction. The play space also will promote self-empowerment and imaginative play for all kids.
There are an estimated 1,400 children and adults with disabilities in our area. The complex would also draw families from surrounding towns, any wheelchair user, children with undocumented disabilities, families traveling through Hays, and ALL other children. All three plays spaces are greatly needed!
Funds for the ARC Park, as well as the design and project work, are overseen by local special needs parents and directors at The Arc of Central Plains.