Community pitches in for White Center ballpark

One of the shoddiest baseball fields in King County is now one of the best and will be showcased Saturday when Seattle Prep plays Eastside Catholic at 1 p.m.

Mel Olson Stadium in White Center has been transformed with a combination of volunteer labor and donated or discounted materials. The stadium is in White Center Park, which will be renamed "Steve Cox Memorial Park" on Saturday in ceremonies starting at 11:30 a.m. Cox was the King County deputy nicknamed "Superman" who was beloved in the community and was killed by a gang member in 2006.

Cox's preschool-age son will be involved with throwing out the first pitch.

Jessie Israel, a manager at King County Parks, said the project would have cost more than $1 million and would have been unaffordable if the county had been asked to fund all of it. Instead, King County put in $430,000 and volunteers and public-spirited companies leveraged those resources and got the job done.

"Seattle Prep and community leaders from White Center approached us about redoing the stadium almost eight months ago," Israel said. "The outpouring of support for this project has been overwhelming."

The same type of public-private partnership involving the King County Parks Department has helped build soccer fields in Preston.

Mel Olson Stadium, named in honor of an energetic White Center civic leader who died in 1989, has been the home field for Seattle Prep for about 20 years. Prep baseball parent Joe Mentor, who lives nearby, quarterbacked the project and routinely used fellow Prep parent Greg Drobnick as a sounding board.

"Joe volunteered countless hours as the construction project manager and is in our Hall of Fame as far as volunteers go," Israel said.

Volunteers came from the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League, Southwest Little League, the North Highline Fire District, North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, White Center Community Development Association and the Sheriff's Office. The Mariners grounds crew also helped with a new clay mound, and the M's donated their surplus backstop padding.

A total of 28 companies are listed as "in-kind supporters."

There is now FieldTurf in the infield, and the soggy, uneven outfield grass was hauled away. The outfield was leveled, and new grass was laid over soil that has a bottom layer of sand to speed drainage. Other improvements include a new outfield fence and synthetic-turf bullpens. The covered grandstand that seats more than 1,000 has been painted "Safeco Green."

"Most colleges in this country would love to have a field this good," said Prep coach Ed Paulter.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com