Carrollton, Texas – The City of Carrollton Mayor and Council will officiate a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly updated W. J. Thomas Sports Field (1950 N. Perry Road) on Saturday, March 25 at 5 p.m. All ages are welcome to attend, and a pick-up game of baseball will follow the ceremony.

Attendees are invited to take photos with the new glove statue created in memory of Shane Patterson, a Newman Smith High School baseball player who died in a car accident in 1987. “The Claw” glove project was funded by donations collected from a group of Patterson’s friends, and overlooks the field that was named after him in a 2015 proposal approved by Carrollton City Council. The award-winning sculpture was designed by park and playground company UPC Parks, who earned first place in the 2015 National Precast Concrete Association’s Creative Use of Precast category. “This project is a great example of the Carrollton community coming together,” Councilmember Doug Hrbacek said. “It’s hard to appreciate what we have today without knowing what we had before.” Hrbacek played baseball with Patterson and felt it would be a good way to remember him.

The entire park improvement project budget was approximately $875K and was funded through Capital Improvement Project Funds and a 2013 bond election. Updates were made to the sidewalks, fencing, seating, and parking lot, and new additions include a metal wrap-around shade to both fields, a restroom and concession building, an irrigation system, and four baseball bollards.

David Shipp with LanArc Design created the design and plans for the Thomas renovation. Project vendors include North Star Construction, We Build Fun, Inc., Classic Recreation Systems, and CorWorth.

For more information on City parks, visit cityofcarrollton.com/parks.Save