Newport Architect Designs Real Life Field of Dreams

After struggling for some time to find a field of their own, the Orange County Sun Devils spent Labor Day weekend breaking in their brand new baseball diamond.

A group of dedicated parents and community members, including Newport Beach architect Bill Cope, have worked on Sun Devil Field for about two years and officially welcomed the players to their home field on Saturday.

"Experiences that kids have on this field will change lives. I believe that, I really do," said parent Bob Klein, who is also the team's founder. "We will have a positive impact on these boys' lives and will look back in 20 years at the fun they had on this field."

The privately funded field features an announcer's box, dugout, digital scoreboard, basketball court, restrooms and a parking lot. Cope, who designed the field and has a son on the team, said he wanted to be involved with the project because the Sun Devils were in need of a stable stadium to practice and play after experiencing trouble competing for field time against organized leagues.

"For the last three years, we were a travel ball team," Cope said. "We had trouble finding city fields to rent because they cater to specific residents in each city and we have residents from various cities on our team. We didn't have enough players from each city to play."

The Orange County Sun Devils are among a fraternity of travel ball teams in Southern California who are state and nationally ranked. Most all of the boys on the team are 11-years-old, and are led by coach Mark Cresse, who coached the Los Angeles Dodgers under Tommy Lasorda from 1974-1998. 

The OC Sun Devils Field is located off the 405 Freeway at 3370 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa.The OC Sun Devils obtained a conditional use permit from the City of Costa Mesa for the next seven years. 

"The kids' faces just light up," Cope said. "Bob Klein didn't scrimp on anything. The announcer's booth by far is the coolest thing. I just love the scale of each building, the detail. It's rustic in nature. The consistency of the project shines through."

"We do a lot of ribbon cutting events in this city but this is probably the highlight of all the events I've done," said Costa Mesa City Councilman Steve Mensinger added. "Not only does this represent something that I enjoy personally, but something done not by the government, but by the individuals."

For more information on the Orange County Sun Devils, visit ocsundevils.com.