Summerlin throws first pitch

The master-planned community of Summerlin in the northwestern valley has a new ballpark — and a new Little League organization. The grand opening of The Vistas Park, offering baseball diamonds and more, was celebrated at the season-opening ceremony for the new Summerlin South Little League.

Little League baseball has become such a hit in Summerlin that the growing community needed two leagues and two playing sites, said Randy Ecklund, executive director of The Summerlin Council, the non-profit arm of the Summerlin Community Association that oversees recreational programming.

“Youth baseball continues to be very popular in Summerlin,” Ecklund said. “The Summerlin Little League, which is now in its 14th year, had grown so large in participation levels that their size warranted splitting the organization into two separate leagues. Summerlin Little League still calls The Trails Park home. The new Vistas Park will serve as the home of the new Summerlin South Little League and is already in use nearly every night of the week for practices and games.”

The new league already has approximately 280 players on 23 teams.

The ballplayers, along with their families, dedicated the park April 21 with a ceremonial opening that featured “first pitches” thrown by Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Wolfson; Summerlin Sam, the community’s jackrabbit mascot; and Ecklund.

The Vistas Park is a 20-plus-acre facility featuring two lighted baseball fields, a concession stand, two lighted tennis courts, a lighted basketball court, group picnic pavilion, children’s play area and restroom facilities.

The park also includes Summerlin’s first football field. A private community center and swimming pool for Summerlin residents is planned for completion in spring 2008.

The Vistas Park is Summerlin’s 21st major community park of more than five acres. Overall, the community is home to more than 100 parks of various sizes.

“Since its inception, Summerlin has catered to families and outdoor enthusiasts who appreciate the community’s recreational amenities that encourage healthy, active lifestyles,” said Tom Warden, vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin.

“Top-notch facilities like The Vistas Park help to create the popular active lifestyle for which the community is known.”

Carved out of raw desert, Summerlin began to take shape in 1990 and by 1992, it ranked as the country’s best-selling master-planned community, a distinction it held for a decade. Summerlin is a 22,500-acre master-planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

It is currently home to more than 95,000 residents with approximately 7,500 acres still to develop, including its urban core, Summerlin Centre.

Summerlin is also home to more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin Trail System, 19 public and private schools, houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, cultural facilities, business parks and more than 60 model homes.

Single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and lofts are available.

Call 791-4500 or visit summerlin.com.