SYRACUSE CHALLENGER BASEBALL CELEBRATES ITS 40TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY AS AMERICA’S OLDEST AND LARGEST SPECIAL NEEDS CHALLENGER DIVISION WITH ALL-STAR SOFTBALL GAME VS. THE “VISIT SYRACUSE” ALL-STARS!!
WHEN: Wednesday., August 3, 2022
TIME: 5:00 PM Gates Open; 5:30 PM Pre-Game Ceremonies; 6:00 PM Game Time
EVENT: Syracuse Challenger Baseball Adult All Stars v. Danny Liedka’s Visit Syracuse All-Stars Softball Game
WHERE: Carrier Park “Field of Dreams” Complex – 1033 Kinne St. East Syracuse, NY CONTACT: Dom Cambareri, Executive Director
PHONE: 315-433-5176
The players, directors, coaches, and families of Syracuse Challenger Baseball, the oldest and largest special needs Little League Challenger Division in the country for children and adults with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities, will host a special softball game against Danny Liedka’s “Visit Syracuse All Stars” to highlight the 40th Anniversary founding of the Syracuse Challenger Baseball program and the anticipated 2022-2024 Phase 3 expansion of the all-inclusive Carrier Park Field of Dreams sports complex!!
Syracuse Challenger Baseball celebrates its 40th Year Anniversary in 2022. The Challenger players are able to play and recreate, side by side, with their community able-bodied peers. Syracuse Challenger Baseball – with 3 divisions and 14 teams in 2022 – has grown into the largest single district Challenger baseball program in the country. The amazing Challenger special needs players are the motivation and inspiration behind the magnificent “Carrier Park Field of Dreams” all-inclusive Sports & Recreational Complex located in and operated by the Town of Dewitt.
Visit Syracuse is an affiliate of CenterState CEO and serves as Onondaga County’s official Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA). The Visit Syracuse team plays a critical role in Onondaga County’s economic development strategy through its focus to grow the area’s tourism industry, including the promotion of sports tourism and inclusive/unified sports in the CNY region.
The Carrier Park “Field of Dreams” is specifically designed and constructed to provide the opportunity for fully inclusive and unified baseball, softball, and other recreational sports play for athletes of all abilities. The $7.0 million Carrier Park “Field of Dreams”, which opened in May 2016, is a state-of-the-art, multi-athletic, fully handicap-accessible sports complex that features two all-accessible baseball/softball diamonds that serve as the home of Syracuse Challenger Baseball. Additionally, in October 2019, the Town of Dewitt added three all-inclusive championship basketball courts, and an all-accessible, boundless special needs playground with multiple state-of-the-art children’s play stations and swings.
Syracuse Challenger Baseball Executive Director Dom Cambareri highlighted the unwavering commitment to assisting the Town of Dewitt with the completion of “Crown Jewel” of the Carrier Park Field of Dreams — a multi baseball/softball diamond “Phase 3 Super Field.”
“Syracuse Challenger Baseball has successfully partnered with the Town of Dewitt, the Friends of Dewitt Parks & Recreation, the County of Onondaga, and the generous CNY Community to build the incredible Phases 1 and 2 of this magnificent complex. The time is ripe to build the exciting Phase 3 in 2022-2024, multi-athletic baseball/softball/Special Olympics event turfed “SuperField,” complete with two Jumbotron audio-visual scoreboards. Our message to children and adults of all abilities in CNY region, as well as across New York State, the Northeast United States & Canada is: ‘Yes, you can play!’
Danny Liedka, President & CEO of Visit Syracuse added: “We are delighted to co-celebrate and sponsor the 40th Anniversary of the nation’s premier Syracuse Challenger Baseball program with this all-star softball game. Visit Syracuse is committed to the continued support of the efforts made by Syracuse Challenger Baseball and CNY community to complete a truly unique, inclusive, and unified sporting complex embodied by the Carrier Park Field of Dreams.”
The Syracuse Challenger Baseball 40th Anniversary celebration all-star softball game ceremonies will take place on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at 5:30 PM, with 6:00 PM game time. The winner gets to retain and display the three-foot tall “Challenger Baseball Trophy & Cup” until next year’s softball challenge game. Gates open at 5:00 PM. Admission is free and food and concessions are available.
