Blake Ellis/The Independent

A cheer went up as the packed house at the Black Gold Brewery as it was announced Lambton Centennial Public School was a winner in the Toronto Blue Jays’ Field of Dreams program. 

Lambton Centennial Public School will be one of 15 organizations across Canada to receive a total of $1.5 million to build, enhance or refurbish local baseball diamonds in local communities. 

Steve McGrail, a teacher at Lambton Centennial Public School, led the application process to the Field of Dreams program. McGrail said he felt amazing after the announcement before a Toronto Blue Jays game broadcast on Sunday afternoon.

Members of the school and their parents gathered at Black Gold Brewery for a watch party and were able to witness Lambton Centennial Public School be announced. 

“Every school needs a baseball diamond,” said McGrail. “This will be a big help to make that happen.” 

The school and the school board will now have 18 months to use the funding to construct a new baseball diamond. McGrail hopes once it is complete, the ball diamond can be used not only by the school, but the wider community as well. 

Wyoming Minor Ball applied to the same program a few years ago, but that application only made it half way through. 

In the last two years, the Field of Dreams program, which is administered through the Jays Care Foundation, expanded its criteria to include ball diamonds at schools, said McGrail. The application process began last September. 

McGrail said this is good news for the school, as Lambton Centennial Public School had to contend with septic issues within the last year. Lambton Kent District School Board installed a new septic system, but sections of the ball diamond had to be torn up in the process.