Dad Drops $30K Building Age 5 Son 'Field of Dreams' in Own Backyard
When you were a kid, did you imagine transforming your backyard into your very own dream playground?
When I was a little girl, I asked my parents if we could construct a roller coaster just off the back porch. Unfortunately, they said no.
Two years ago, one Ohio boy had his own incredible landscaping idea. With high hopes, he brought the plan to his dad’s attention while they were outside playing T-ball.
“He asked me, ‘Dada, can we have a baseball field in the backyard?'” Jason Kidd, the boy’s father, told WFMJ.
Kidd’s immediate answer was “no,” but the idea stuck in his mind. Soon, he started measuring his yard. He realized that with some work, his son’s far-fetched dream could come true.
The first steps were to remove trees and to level the ground. Around $30,000 and two years later, a baseball diamond has taken shape in the Kidds’ backyard.
Others are balking at the price tag tacked to the ambitious project, but to Kidd, baseball is worth it. His own uncle taught him to play the sport when he was a kid, and he’s thrilled to teach his son about the game he loves.
“Probably not the best financial decision, but it’s baseball,” Kidd told WKYC.
Although the field isn’t a full-sized “Field of Dreams,” it’s still a child’s imagination come to life. The field is perfect for Kidd’s son and neighborhood friends, who will surely be coming in flocks to play ball (and potentially jeopardize the house’s windows, which face home plate).
Of course, no unusual project is without its criticism. the idea was met with some skepticism from some of Kidds’ Brookfield neighbors, who worried about run-off from the field.
Regardless, no laws restrict such a field from being constructed in the community. In fact, most of Kidd’s neighbors are excited that the community’s children will have their own field to play on.
“I’ll be quite honest with you,” one neighbor said. “I don’t know if we had zoning that we’d want to prevent it. What a great thing.”
However, the field isn’t quite finished yet. Although Kidd’s son is already jumping for joy, a little more work is necessary to make the field as perfect as possible.
“Still gonna put up a fence, some foul poles and lighting,” Kidd said.
Once it takes its final movie-worthy form, Kidd’s backyard will likely be the envy of every child in the community.
“It’s the best thing to happen to this neighborhood in a long time,” another neighbor said.
As the 1989 film “Field of Dreams” taught us, “If you build it, they will come!”
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