RVC Little League Gets $2M Grant Boost

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — While the New York Mets continue an 11-game skid, a more hopeful baseball story is developing a short drive southeast from Citi Field: Rockville Centre Little League held its Opening Day ceremony, where Congresswoman Laura Gillen announced $2 million in federal funding to overhaul Hickey Field.

The funding was secured through Community Project Funding in the 2026 appropriations process, Gillen’s office said, with money coming down from the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Gillen's office said the funds will help finance the installation of turf fields, ADA-compliant restrooms and wheelchair-accessible pathways in the park that RVC Little League calls home.

“When I was running for Congress, I made a commitment to Little League President Peter Klugewicz and Challenger League founder Gene Kirley that I would deliver for Hickey Field,” Gillen said. “Now, I am proud to have secured and brought back $2 million from Washington to improve this field and make it more ADA accessible for our Challenger League. We send a lot of tax dollars to Washington, and we don't always get them back. I worked tirelessly with Peter, Gene, and our local elected officials to secure this investment. I look forward to returning for the ribbon cutting when this vital renovation is done.”

The Challenger League originated in 2012 as an extension of Rockville Centre Little League, providing an alternative to the conventional league for kids with physical or mental disabilities. Among the difficulties facing the league, Gillen’s office said, was the lack of ADA accessibility, which limited the amount of families that could participate in RVC’s Challenger League. With the new funds, part of a $13 million Community Project Funding initiative, some of those challenges will be addressed.

For league officials, the funding will allow Rockville Centre to keep its Sunday morning Challenger League running. The question of when the construction takes place, Gillen's office said, is ultimately up to the village. The plans for construction include demolishing the current natural grass fields and preparing them to install new turf fields, while site prep will include erosion control measures and drainage improvements, the congresswoman's office told Patch. In addition to ADA-accessible pathways and restrooms, representatives from Gillen's office said there will be landscaping work done around the park.

Even with a long road ahead, to the people running RVC Little League, the announcement of funding qualified as "great news."

“At our Opening Day Parade, celebrating our 75th anniversary, our players, coaches [and] parents received great news from Congresswoman Gillen that we're receiving $2 million, which will allow us to upgrade our signature field to once again be the envy of Nassau County,” Peter Klugewicz, President of the Rockville Centre Little League, said. “Hickey Field is home to our Challenger League, which plays every Sunday morning. The upgrades made possible by this new funding will allow all of our players access to the field equally. Congresswoman Gillen has been working side by side with us since her election in November 2024 to secure funds for this much-needed project.”