‘Victory Field’ scores with the kids

To officially open the little-league season at the remodeled Victory Field in Forest Park, Adrian Benepe, the city’s Commissioner of Parks & Recreation, brought out many of the teams who will play there.
Nearly 200 pint-sized baseball and softball players, as well as Queens Falcons football players, showed up for the first pitch and kickoff on Tuesday, April 10 as Benepe and elected officials - Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilmembers Joseph Addabbo and Dennis Gallagher - officially opened the new facility, located at the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive.
“What do you do when a football team and a baseball lineup take the field at the same time?” Benepe joked. “Run.” Therefore, that is exactly what players and politicians did - each of the elected officials threw a pitch to the baseball players and Addabbo ran out for a long pass from a Falcons’ quarterback.
The renovations at Victory Field, which began in May 2006, feature a state-of-art track and multi-sport turf field, suitable for football, baseball and soccer.
Marshall, who allocated $3.45 million of the $3.65 million cost of the renovations, pointed to the importance of athletics to motivate students and said that often student athletes are required to keep up their grades to participate in team activities.
“It goes hand in hand,” she said.
The rest of the funds were supplied by a $200,000 grant from the New York Jets, the National Football League (NFL) Players Association, and the NFL’s Grassroots program.
The term “state-of-the-art” is often thrown around without any definition, Benepe said, explaining that quarter-mile track surrounding the field is made of natural rubber by an Italian company, Mondo, which supplies tracks for the Summer Olympic Games.
In addition, Parks chose to use synthetic turf - as they have done since 1997 - because of the material’s durability and easy maintenance.
“It’s environmentally friendlier than a regular field,” Benepe told the crowd. “You’ll never see a lawn in nature. Lawns require a great deal of human intervention.”
Easy to drain after inclement weather, the turf field can also be used by local teams year round.
“The completion of the new track and multi-use field at Forest Park’s Victory Field trumpets yet one more recreational opportunity at Victory Field Sports Complex,” Benepe said, pointing to the opening of the first wheelchair football field in Forest Park in November 2006.
On Saturday, April 14 the new track and field will be renamed in honor for former Assemblymember and Judge Fred Schmidt, who passed away in 2003.