As you drive along the rolling hills of Foothills Boulevard in Klamath County, you will undoubtedly come upon a beautiful, manicured park of pristine sports fields and clean architecture.

Just over 20 years old, Steen Sports Park is a testament to community connectedness, commercial vision, and the initial dream of one man.

The Vision

The Park's visionary and founder, Dave Steen, saw the plot of land way back in 1985 — before a road was even built for access — and he began to envision, sketching out in his mind, the ways in which he could see it come to life.

Steen — a beloved and talented state-championship baseball coach, teacher, and mentor to thousands of young people in the Klamath Basin over his sixty years of service — said he felt he knew what families wanted and needed from an extra-curricular perspective for their kids.

"There needed to be a central location where families could drop off their children for activities, sports instruction, team participation, and practice. It needed to be safe, welcoming, and have the facilities, focus, and family feel where they could explore their interest in multiple sports." — Dave Steen

Finding the Brain Trust

Steen sought the brain trust of community leaders with whom to share his vision and ideas.

These included members of the Wendt family — who were captains of manufacturing and industry — and the local Rotary Club comprised of business visionaries and community leaders.

In 1999, Dick Wendt — the founder of JELD-WEN, Inc. (one of the world's largest door and window manufacturers, then based in Klamath Falls) — took a group of people, invested in the idea to seven different sports parks across the United States.

Their goal was to explore what other places were doing right as guidance for designing a sports facility for the Klamath Basin.

The Wendt Investment

The Wendt family's commitment — built on Dick Wendt's belief that Klamath Falls deserved a sports facility comparable to anywhere in the country — turned Steen's vision into a real, fundable project.

JELD-WEN's investment, combined with community partners and ongoing fundraising, allowed Steen Sports Park to break ground and open to Klamath County families.

What Steen Has Become

Today, 20+ years after opening, Steen Sports Park serves:

  • Baseball and softball — multiple diamonds, youth through adult leagues
  • Soccer fields for youth and recreational play
  • Multi-purpose fields for various sports
  • Concessions and parking infrastructure
  • Community gatherings beyond athletics — tournaments, festivals, weekend events
  • The Leo J. Bocchi Field — a true collegiate baseball field with grandstands, official home field of Oregon Tech Baseball

For Klamath County families with kids in any organized sport, Steen Sports Park is the destination — the place where countless youth athletes learn the basics, compete in their first tournaments, and build the kind of childhood memories that last forever.

The Bocchi Connection

The Leo J. Bocchi Field at Steen Sports Park is named in honor of the late Leo J. Bocchi — a Klamath Falls business leader who died in 1988. The Bocchi family underwrote the creation and building of the field as a collegiate-quality home venue for Oregon Tech Baseball.

That kind of multi-family, multi-generation investment — Steen's vision, Wendt's capital, Bocchi's tribute, Rotary's leadership, and the thousands of volunteers and donors over the decades — is what builds enduring community infrastructure.

A Sustained Vision

What makes Steen Sports Park different from many municipal sports complexes is the sustained vision that built it:

  • A founder who knew exactly what kids and families needed
  • Community leaders willing to invest the capital and time
  • A research-driven approach — touring 7 sports parks before designing this one
  • Multi-decade commitment by donors, volunteers, and partners

That's how community infrastructure of lasting quality gets built. Not in a single grant cycle. Not from a single donor. From sustained vision across decades.

What Steen Sports Park Has Given the Basin

Estimate the total youth-sports participation hours facilitated at Steen Sports Park over 20+ years:

  • Tens of thousands of practices
  • Thousands of tournaments
  • Hundreds of league seasons
  • Countless first-game memories, championship wins, and the everyday joys of youth athletics

For families across Klamath County, Steen Sports Park has been the backdrop of childhood for the past two decades.

Thank You, Coach Steen

To Dave Steen — for 60 years of teaching, coaching, and mentoring Klamath kids — and for the vision that built this place.

To the Wendt family, the Bocchi family, the Rotary Club, and every donor and volunteer who has invested in Steen Sports Park: thank you.

To the kids playing in the leagues today — running the bases, chasing soccer balls, swinging bats — the place you're playing was built specifically for you by people who believed Klamath County kids deserved nothing less.

Use it well.