More than 500 Kirkland Lacrosse players and their family members came together Sunday to celebrate the end of another successful season and take the time to appreciate the great new field they were able to play and practice on this past year.

The Big Finn Hill Field redevelopment project, which was completed early 2013, was made possible through a partnership between Kirkland Lacrosse and King County Parks. Kirkland Lacrosse needed a new field because player interest has exploded and sports officials say there aren’t enough available ball fields in Kirkland to meet demand.

In fact, a significant number of young players would have been turned away had this field not become available this year.

The county is excited about the partnership because it allowed them to take a soccer/lacrosse field that was unusable for most of the year and create a high quality soccer and lacrosse field that the entire community can enjoy.

All the players and parents associated with Kirkland Lacrosse thanked Councilwoman Jane Hague who provided support on the County Council, and state Sen. Andy Hill, whose assistance in getting $150,000 in state funding last year helped make this project happen.

Steve Lytle is the president of Kirkland Lacrosse and is the primary reason why the community has this great new field. His vision, his tireless efforts, and the personal generosity of he and his wife Alex made this project possible and gave the community a vision to rally around.

Kirkland remains a great place to live because the community cares about kids and projects like this demonstrate that.