MANSFIELD — Stanley Cameron wants Cyclops Park to be more than ballfields.
He wants it to be a place to where friendship, teamwork and community pride flourish for people from all walks of life.
“This project is about more than just baseball,” said Cameron, the baseball and softball league commissioner for Oasis of Love Church in Mansfield.
A historic four-field complex on the city’s north side, Cyclops Park was the center of north central Ohio’s slow-pitch softball universe throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
As the popularity of the game began to wane in the early-2000s, the park gradually slipped into a state of disrepair.
There were attempts by individuals and groups to restore the park in recent years. Many of them were hampered by the decline in adult softball popularity and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oasis of Love partnered with the City of Mansfield to “adopt” Cyclops Park in 2024.
Since then, the church has been working to restore the park to its former glory. Congregants have partnered with the city to renovate the concession stand and press box. They’re preparing to fix the bleachers and pavilion.
On a cold but sunny Wednesday morning, a group of older men huddled inside a garage onsite, preparing equipment to drag the long-forgotten fields in preparation for a summer season.
“We’re planning leagues for all ages, including youth, adult, church, and co-ed leagues, with seasons typically running from May through August as schedules are finalized,” Cameron said.
Leagues are set to start this summer. Pastor Raymond Cochran Jr. said online registration will open up within the week. Players do not have to attend Oasis of Love to participate.
“We’re trying to bring the community together, different races, different cultures together, to just have a good, safe, fun time,” Cochran said.
The church is planning a grand opening weekend in mid-May to celebrate the revitalized space, which has been dubbed The Oasis Sports Complex and nicknamed The Crown.
Cochran said the name was inspired by the words of the apostle Paul, who urged fellow believers to pursue a heavenly crown by doing good works.
In his mind, there’s no better way to do that than helping others — especially the city’s children.
“We want to have something for our youth — grounds for mentorship where we can train up the youth, give them opportunities to go further in whatever type of sport that they’re playing,” he said.
Cochran said the church is also planning additional offerings like skills clinics, summer camps and community festivals.
How to get involved
Regular updates on volunteer opportunities and progress at The Oasis Sports Complex is available on The Crown’s Facebook page.
The church is currently accepting donations and seeking coaches and volunteers.
Monetary donations can be earmarked for a scholarship program to help lower the cost of play.
The church is also accepting donated gloves, bats and other supplies to help make gameplay affordable for families.
“The idea started when I helped a relative find a glove on eBay,” said David Yoder, a local baseball coach who assists the church with marketing for its baseball ministry.
“Instead of being discarded, those gloves can get back on the field—and help players avoid spending $400 or $500 on new ones.”
The church is actively looking for coaches and volunteers and anyone interested can contact the church office at 419-524-0344 to get involved.
Revitalization came about through ‘adopt-a-park’ program
For Cochran, the restoration of Cyclops Park was a divine calling. He said it all started when he was driving by Cyclops Park one day and felt the Lord tell him to pull over.
“(God) just said, ‘Something special can happen here,” Cochran recalled. “At the time, I really didn’t see it. But pretty soon He started to lay out the vision and started to put the pieces together and then we quickly saw what He saw.”
Mansfield Parks Supt. Mike Woogerd said the city of Mansfield has contributed close to $100,000 in materials and manpower at Cyclops Field over the last two years.
“When the church approached us, we said ‘This could be a win-win situation,'” Woogerd said.
“That was one of the goals was to get (Cyclops Park) all cleaned up and looking good. We were using the volunteers and the labor from church to get that all done.”
Louis Andres, Mansfield’s public works director, said community partnerships and adopt-a-park agreements have spurred improvements at parks across the city, including Johns Park, South Park and Liberty Park.
But getting involved doesn’t always require a major project.
“One of our goals is to identify a group of people around each of those parks to keep an eye on things and get feedback on programming in the parks,” Andres said.
More information is available on the city’s website.
“I think it’s a great thing to see that the city wants to partner with churches and many different groups to help out, change and make things better,” Cochran said.
“I think a lot of times, people think of the city as a place to get out of and now I see people coming back in. That’s a testament to the leadership and also the city coming together,” he added.
“We support their vision of building the city back up.”
