West Seattle Little League has been named recipient of the Boeing Mariners Care Athletic Field Grant.

The $100,000 grant, awarded annually to fund improvements at youth baseball and softball fields in Washington, will be presented during a pre-game ceremony on Friday, Sept. 28 during Fan Appreciation Night, when the Seattle Mariners take on the Texas Rangers.

This is the 23rd year the grant has been awarded, thanks to the generosity of The Boeing Co., a longtime Mariners corporate partner, and Mariners Care, the team's nonprofit foundation. Over the years, the grant has provided approximately $2 million to improve youth sports fields in the state.

This year's winner, West Seattle Little League, serves 300 kids from ages 5 to 18. They play on two fields at the Bar-S Playfield on Admiral Way. The fields are among only a handful in the Little League district that have grass infields. West Seattle Little League is in the midst of a four-phase renovation of the fields. Phase I, undertaken four years ago, resulted in upgraded and new bleachers, new backstop fencing, underground power and water lines, covers for dugouts and equipment for scorekeepers.

Over the next 14 months, Phase II work will improve access to parking and the fields for people with disabilities, replace rusting fences, improve field drainage, add warning tracks to both fields and build new weather-protected dugouts.

Future plans include permanent concession stands, an important source of revenue to support team activities, restrooms, storage, a batting cage, scoreboards, landscaping and further infield improvements.

Boeing's Bob Watt, vice president of state and local government relations and global corporate citizenship, said Boeing's investment helps to provide world-class facilities for everyone to enjoy and contributes to the overall well-being of young people.

"Many of these young people are the sons, daughters and the grandchildren of our employees," Watt said. "Boeing is proud to continue supporting the Puget Sound community, which is home to more than 72,000 Boeing employees. Our company proudly supports a broad range of charitable, educational, arts and social service programs that help make the communities we call home even better places to live."

"This annual program is a source of great pride for the Seattle Mariners. We are pleased we can partner with Boeing each year to help address one of the most critical needs in our communities, the shortage of safe, quality sports fields for our children," said Howard Lincoln, Seattle Mariners chairman and CEO.

West Seattle Little League president Rick Marksbury says improvements for disabled access, which the grant will help fund, are increasingly important.

"We have grandparents, parents, friends struggling to get up stairs and get around on slippery grass. Everyone will benefit from these improvements," said Marksbury. He also cited planned improvements to concession stands, which provide one-third of the Little League's operating revenues, and new permanent restrooms.