Alderwood LL receives $75K grant

Alderwood Little League has been selected to receive a $75,000 grant from The Boeing Company and the Seattle Mariners.

The Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant will provide the funding necessary to complete a third field on Alderwood Manor Youth Club property in Lynnwood.

“The shortage of youth baseball fields continues to be a major problem for communities across the state,” Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said. “The Mariners are proud of our longstanding partnership with The Boeing Company that has made it possible for us to help bring baseball into the lives of children in so many communities.”

The new field, located at 19711 24th Ave. W., is 85 percent complete. Recent work included installation of the irrigation system and seeding the outfield grass. The grant will make it possible to finish the dugouts and scorekeeper’s booth and construct a grandstand for observers.

When the field is completed, Alderwood Little League will be able to schedule games for all its lower division teams, which will relieve some pressure from Snohomish County Parks and Edmonds School District fields currently used by Alderwood Little League to accommodate all 65 teams that participate in the league’s programs.

“We have to compete for field time with several other programs in our area. Now, everyone will know where our games are. They’ll be on our fields,” said project manager Larry Swartz.

Thanks to the $75,000 grant, the new field will be completed in time for the 2004 season. According to Swartz, volunteers from Alderwood Little League have been working on the project for almost four years.

“It’s very exciting for us to know that after all the effort we’ll put the first players on the field next April,” Swartz. “The kids are excited. They know it’s a big deal.”

The Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant program is now in its 19th year. To date, the program has contributed nearly $1.5 million to youth baseball in the state of Washington.

“This collaborative effort between The Boeing Company and Seattle Mariners demonstrates our continued commitment to the communities where our employees live and work,” said Bob Watt, Vice President Community and Government Relations for The Boeing Co.

“We’re proud to support these rebuilding efforts and make a difference in the lives of young people, many of whom are the sons, daughters and grandchildren of our employees.”