EDITORIAL: A 'Field of Dreams' comes true EDITORIAL: A 'Field of Dreams' comes true (June 23, 2004)

Barring an unforeseen glitch, the town of Woodside will soon begin the work of converting an undeveloped lot near Canada College off Farm Hill Boulevard into Barkley Fields and Park, marking the end of an odyssey that began as a dream in minds of Little League and soccer parents who were tired of squeezing onto the town's only field.

The "dream" in this case was finding a suitable site in a town where property can cost more than $1 million per acre, and coming up with the money to build the field, estimated to cost more than $2 million. But in Woodside, where Oracle software mogul Larry Ellison has shelled out more than $100 million to build an estate that resembles a Japanese village and Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs is eager to throw away the historic 17,000-square-foot Jackling House, anything is possible.

Early last year, Noel Perry decided to offer the town a six-acre lot near Canada College for the field, if supporters could raise the money to build it. It was a tremendous offer, and boosters got a jump-start when an anonymous donor put up an $800,000 challenge grant. Even kids got involved, and one group hit the jackpot raising more than $700 from a bake sale held in front of Roberts market.

Beyond money, the stickiest challenge was left to Woodside Town Manager Susan George. She had the job of appeasing the park's neighbors, who were not enthusiastic about a noisy playing field and public park going into a space that for the most part has been very quiet. Somehow, after months of negotiations with the Woodhill Estates Homeowners Association, Ms. George found common ground, and several weeks ago the two sides managed to draw up a deal they thought would be acceptable to both sides.

The atmosphere was tense at Town Hall last Monday, the final day someone could appeal the plan, but as the deadline passed and supporters breathed a sigh of relief, it became clear that Barkley Fields and Park (named in memory of the Perry family's dog) would become a reality. Current plans call for a Little League field with overlapping soccer field, playground equipment, restrooms and a parking lot. It will be operated by the town of Woodside, and built with $2.5 million in private donations according to a design commissioned by the town.

To make it work, the town agreed to a long list of conditions that will make the neighbors happy. They include bans on alcohol, fires and amplified sound, and a security patrol paid for by the town. There are others, but the process shows that almost anything is possible if a determined group of parents tackles an idea that may seem about as plausible as Shoeless Joe Jackson walking out of a cornfield to show dad and the kids how to hit and throw a baseball.

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