Excavation Contractor Helps Build ‘Miracle’ for Special-Needs Athletes

January 26, 2011

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Contractor Michael O’Keefe of Tecumseh, Ontario, uses its Case 590 Super M loader/backhoe to help build the Amherstburg Sports Complex in Amherstburg, Ontario.

Company’s fleet of Case equipment sculpts $25-million, multi-use athletic complex in Ontario.

In the southern Ontario town of Amherstburg, Canada’s first Miracle League baseball field for special-needs athletes is nearing completion. The new field is part of the Amherstburg Sports Complex, which includes a variety of other handicapped-accessible facilities for indoor and outdoor sports.

Contractor Michael O’Keefe of Tecumseh, Ontario, has played a key role in developing both the Miracle League baseball field and the neighboring football/soccer field. O’Keefe worked on the project as a subcontractor to general contractor DeAngelis Construction of Maidstone, Ontario, and he used a fleet of Case excavators, crawler dozers and loader/backhoes to provide drainage, subbase, base and final grading for 25 acres of the total 85-acre site.

Since its inception in 1998 as a local organization in Georgia, the Miracle League has grown to include more than 200 local affiliates in the United States and now the first Canadian league in Amherstburg. The organization implements its vision (“every child deserves a chance to play baseball”) by providing facilities, leaders and volunteers to help the dream of playing baseball come true for physically challenged boys and girls.

“We’re honored to be involved in the construction of this very special facility,” says Shawn O’Keefe, project manager for Michael O’Keefe.

Moving into Excavation

O’Keefe’s Case 850XLT crawler dozer helps shape the site.

Michael O’Keefe founded his business in 1965 as a trucking company, and his son Shawn helped with the business after school. O’Keefe purchased its first used Case loader/backhoe in 1970 and has had at least one in inventory ever since.

Because of Shawn O’Keefe’s interest in excavation, eventually the business expanded to include site prep work. O’Keefe currently focuses on sewer installation, grading, excavating, backfilling and vacuum excavation.

The Case equipment lineup at O’Keefe currently includes a 590 Super M loader/backhoe, CX210B and CX160B excavators, an 850XLT crawler dozer and a 420CT compact track loader.

The work on Amherstburg’s Miracle League project began in September 2009. The sports complex is Canada’s first multi-use indoor/outdoor recreation center to accommodate those with special needs. The $25-million barrier-free facility features an outdoor rubberized synthetic turf that can accommodate wheelchairs and walking devices.

“This is something I’ve never seen outside,” O’Keefe says.

The complex also includes 135,000 square feet of indoor facilities featuring two ice rinks, a mini practice rink, a soccer field with walking track, community room, concessions and sports retailing. Outdoor facilities include the Miracle League baseball diamond and a professional size soccer/football field.

Making Dreams Come True

Project manager Shawn O’Keefe says the company has put in nearly 2,000 hours on the Case 160B excavator, and it has had little down time.

O’Keefe used its excavators at the Amherstburg Sports Complex for tasks such as footing excavation, backfilling of foundation walls, bulk earth moving, construction of a toboggan run, ditch and swale construction and sewer installation.

The dozer has shaped the entire site, cut swales, leveled parking areas and graded the fields and landscaped areas. The compact track loader backfilled and graded inside the building, helped install sewers and pushed the laser box grader that did all of the final grading for the fields and floors. The loader/backhoe trenched, cleaned up, assisted with sewers, compacted with a hoe pack, broke frost with a hydraulic hammer and served as O’Keefe’s “mobile office.”

With nearly 2,000 hours on the Case 160B excavator, “it is terrific on fuel, and we’ve had negligible down time,” O’Keefe says.

“One day last fall, when the job was crawling with equipment, we decided that we needed to cover some of the rough-graded parking lot area with gravel,” O’Keefe says. “We needed to spread about 2,500 tons in a day, but the dozers were too busy, so I did it with my backhoe. Even the other operators were amazed that I could push that much stone with that machine.”

O’Keefe credits Case dealer Kucera Construction Equipment with providing excellent ongoing support.

“Dave Kucera has been a tremendous asset for me in the growth of my business,” O’Keefe says. “He has personally helped me at all hours of the day and provided access to whatever equipment I need.”

“My Case machines are all very powerful for their respective sizes,” he continues. “The cabs are well designed and as comfortable as you could want. The serviceability has also been a plus.”

Amherstburg expects visitors from all over North America to visit the new complex. In addition to hosting the local schedule of Miracle League baseball games, the field will be the site of frequent regional tournaments. Local officials predict the complex will accommodate up to 100,000 people annually.

Although Michael O’Keefe remains a small company, its role in the Miracle League project is making big dreams come true.

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