In July of 2008, Ryan and Katrina Smith of Erie, Pennsylvania, gave birth to their first babies—twins Gianna and Grady. Born over three months premature, Grady lived only 52 hours. In dealing with such a devastating loss, the Smiths were searching for a way to direct the love and support they had received toward a cause that would memorialize the life of their son.
“My son lived for 52 hours but I want his 52 hours on earth to have some sort of eternal impact,” Ryan says.
Knowing that Athletes in Action needed another $150,000 in funding to build the stadium, the Smiths asked those interested in furthering God’s legacy through their son to contribute to AIA for the construction of the venue around the field that would bear the name “Grady’s Field.”
The stadium will be put to good use as teams as far away as Missouri, Illinois, New York and Tennessee come to take advantage of the great facilities. In the past two springs, over 50 different colleges including University of Dayton and Wright State University, and over 70 different high schools have played on the field. In 2009 alone, 180 baseball games were played at Grady’s Field.
Located at 1197 S. Detroit Street, Xenia, OH, Grady’s Field is just a part of the AIA Sports Complex and Retreat Center which also includes two synthetic turf soccer fields and softball fields, a synthetic turf football field, track, challenge course with high and low elements, retreat center, four residence halls and a conference center all on one campus in Xenia, Ohio.