SUMMERDALE — This summer, visitors to Baldwin County's Miracle League ballpark will finally be able to play.

Finishing touches are being made to the playground at the home of The Miracle League of Coastal Alabama in Summerdale. The playground features equipment that can be used to help special needs children swing and play.

It is the first step in opening the park to the public after a very long climb punctuated by an oil spill, hurricanes and the pandemic.

"We're rocking and rolling right now," said Bruce White, president and founder of the Miracle League of Alabama. "Hopefully once that is open it will make the public more aware. I'm shocked by how many people don't know we're here."

White was inspired to find a way to build a special needs ballpark locally nearly 20 years ago after watching a sportscaster profile another Miracle League program. He was struck by the joy it brought to children who couldn't play in city or school leagues due to their disabilities.

He turned to his wife with tears in his eyes.

"Watching that, it hit me. I had been able to play ball my whole life and never thought about those kids sitting in a wheelchair that never got that opportunity," he said. "This opened my eyes and made me realize how fortunate the rest of us are."

There are roughly 350 Miracle League's across the United States and Canada, serving more than 450,000 children and adults.

After years of White pitching the idea to organizations across Baldwin County, the Lions Club agreed to take on the task as a Legacy Project.

Soon after, Hurricane Ivan stopped the planning in its tracks. When the committee took up the mantel again in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster unleashed havoc on the coast, again pausing their progress.

In 2015 the group re-organized and this time, all the stars aligned. The city of Summerdale donated 40 acres of land just off County Road 71, placing the park centrally in the county.

In August, 2019, with nearly half of the $2.5 million price tag covered in grants and donations, the group broke ground on the Summerdale property and estimated the park would be finished in 18 months.

Seven months later the spread of COVID-19 stopped work at the site and slowed much of their donations as charities turned their focus to supporting families through the pandemic.

Six months later, Hurricane Sally swept across Baldwin County destroying many of the surface materials purchased for the ballfield.

Still, White and his volunteers continued. Now, the playground and its surface are complete. Once the parking lot and adjoining surfaces are finished the group expects to open the play area in early summer.

That, he said he hopes, will bring more attention to the project, as well as more volunteers and more donations.

"Once we open the playground people will be able to see the things we've done," he said. "I feel like people will get way more involved in helping us get it finished at that point."

To finish the group needs roughly $1.4 million. In-kind donations have completed much of the work done since Hurricane Sally struck.

"There's a lot of work going on over there. A lot of people volunteering," White said.

With rough years behind them, donations are rolling in again, White said. A combined $500,000 was recently gifted by the Snook Foundation, Central Baldwin Sunset Rotary and Lions International. Smaller individual donations from families are also adding up, he said.

"We're moving right along," he said.

For questions about The Miracle League of Coastal Alabama, email White at miracleleagueca@gmail.com.