Kirkland American Little League Announces Grand Reopening of Taylor Fields 1 and 2 at King County's Houghton Transfer Station
May 9, 20226
Kirkland American Little League (KALL) completed construction of two synthetic turf infields on Taylor Fields at King County's Houghton Transfer Station. To celebrate the opening of these two newly upgraded fields and KALL's 75th Anniversary, the league is hosting a ribbon cutting celebration at 9am on May 9th at Taylor Fields.
For the past decade, limited field capacity and weather challenges prevented approximately 50% of KALL's March and April programming from taking place. Even minor weather events kept fields unplayable on sunny days, creating constant scheduling uncertainty for Kirkland families. Over recent years, adjacent communities upgraded their infields to weather resilient playing surfaces and it was time for KALL to do the same.
Three years ago, KALL took action and began a private fundraising campaign to develop, design, and construct two brand new synthetic turf infields. Because Taylor Fields are located on top of a closed landfill, KALL completed a feasibility study with the help of the King County Solid Waste Department and its consultant, Herrera Engineering. Project planning took place as the City of Kirkland and King County Solid Waste considered a $200 million transfer station upgrade within the same Houghton complex. As an impacted stakeholder, KALL participated in the transfer station project's public process. It engaged city and county leaders to ensure the Taylor family's generosity in initially building these baseball fields remained a protected legacy and the latest fundraising could support a new generation of softball and baseball players. KALL obtained a commitment from the City of Kirkland and King County that Taylor Fields will be preserved, along with an extended lease agreement and commitment for the league to maintain exclusive rights to the fields as it made this privately funded investment.
In 2025, KALL began permitting efforts with the City of Kirkland's Planning, Public Works, and Parks & Recreation Departments. With the help of many dedicated KALL volunteers and retired Kirkland engineer Luay Joudeh, KALL received City of Kirkland and King County permitting approvals to ensure environmental requirements were met and all materials met city and county synthetic turf standards. Field Turf Northwest began construction in March 2026, completing construction of both infields in one month – on time and on budget.
On Monday April 20th, KALL held its first "Quickball" and "RapidBaseball" games for boys and girls in its lower level divisions. Taylor programming has commenced without a single schedule disruption, even on days when softball and baseball games at every other City of Kirkland field were rained out.
"Taylor Field's new synthetic turf infields will give Kirkland children a safe, accessible place to practice and play games year-round, reduce schedule disruptions for families, and bring our community together," said Chris Thomas, one of the KALL board members responsible for leading the turf initiative. "We are grateful to our own volunteers, as well as our city and county partners for ensuring this project could advance. We are especially grateful for the financial generosity of so many families and businesses in our Kirkland community, including a lead donation and dollar-for-dollar matching campaign from Jay and Jeff Miller of MJS Investors. Without the Millers and these generous Kirkland donors, this project would not have been possible."
"Expanding ballfield options during the rains of March and April is a win for players, families, and Kirkland," said City of Kirkland City Councilmember John Tymczyszyn. "The City of Kirkland is adding more year-round, weather-resilient ballfields next year, and we look forward to teams taking advantage of them."
City of Kirkland Councilmember Jon Pascal added, “These new all-season fields at Taylor Fields are a big win for Kirkland’s families and for Kirkland American Little League. In the Pacific Northwest, rain too often means canceled games and lost practice time, but these fields change that, giving kids a reliable place to play and recreate regardless of the weather.”
As part of KALL's broader resiliency initiative to serve the needs of the next generation of softball and baseball players, KALL leaders are continuing work with King County to secure additional Taylor Field improvements. KALL has also continued its planning efforts with the City of Kirkland's Parks & Recreation Department to improve citywide field resilience for weather dependent activities.
Kirkland American Little League is 501 (c) (3) organization. All donations are tax deductible: Tax ID 23-1699231 #3158. Inquires should be sent to 721 4th Avenue #146, Kirkland WA 98033 and [email protected]