Cambridge council taking a gradual approach to improve baseball diamond accessibility

Cambridge councillors want to make baseball games inclusive in their city, pledging to explore funding to make a diamond in Riverside Park more accessible in the 2025 budget.

The Kin 1 diamond at Riverside Park is used by Buddy League, a challenger baseball program that adapts the game to each player’s needs.

However, participants say there are numerous problems with the site, from potholes in the parking lot, to the rough gravel path that leads to the diamond, to dugouts and seating that are not accessible.

“Fields shouldn’t be the challenge, the sport should,” Michael Papaioannou, a player who uses a wheelchair, explained to Cambridge councillors.

“I just want a place where I can play baseball like any other kid,” said Holden Sisek, another player who also uses a wheelchair, during his delegation.

Buddy League was launched in 2018 and, this past summer, about 110 athletes took part in the program. Participants call it a source of friendship, sport, confidence and fun.

But for Papaioannou, not being able to get his wheelchair into the dugout is tough.

“It's hard to move and position myself in those spaces which makes me feel separated from the rest of the team,” he said.

Another major concern at the field is the washrooms.

“Right now there is no way for me to use the washroom at the baseball diamond. I tried one time but I couldn't even make it into the stall,” Sisek said.

“When we play on this diamond our athletes and families can often feel like they are guests, not like they truly belong,” explained head coach and league coordinator Cam Linwood. “It sends a subtle but difficult message: this space wasn't made for you.”

The request – a fully accessible field. City staff have estimated the cost for that at $3,000,000. Tuesday night, councillors committed to looking at what they can do in next year’s budget to implement changes using a phased approach.

“We're going to look at it from a scoping out perspective,” said Ward 5 councillor Sheri Roberts, who put forward the motion to address the issue in the 2025 budget process. “What can we do initially to make this safe and accessible for our athletes and then work on it from there incrementally?”

Roberts, who uses a wheelchair herself, said the concerns raised about the parking lot, path, seating and washrooms could be addressed first.

“These are the sort of the things we think we can do that will make a really dramatic improvement in terms of accessibility in this space to start with,” she told CTV News, saying the eventual goal of a top-of-the-line accessible baseball diamond can follow.

To help with the costs, the city is planning on applying for a grant from the Jays Care Foundation. It’s also hoped the community will step up with sponsorships.

“I know businesses have approached me: ‘How can I give, how can I sponsor?’ I think for us now, as council, we should just say this is it,” said Helen Shwery, the councillor for Ward 1, which includes Riverside Park.

Shwery had originally suggested that council should look at this item in the 2026 budget cycle, saying it made more sense to her to have a more complete plan in place, including getting sponsorships. Ultimately though, she voted with other councillors to approve the motion to start looking at what can be done in 2025.

“I hope this goes quickly,” Shwery said. “And I hope the phased approach doesn’t mean longer.”

She added that the vote, which was unanimous among all councillors present on Tuesday, sends a strong message about the importance of this project.

The team’s coach calls the project their own “Field of Dreams.” But unlike the 1989 film, the players have come before the field.

“We're not saying: 'If you build it, they will come' -- we're already here. And through this project we believe that so many more in our community will benefit from that support,” said Linwood.