Iowa City Today

Momentum is building for one of the city’s local baseball fields to be renamed in honor of Owen Skelley.

At a March 27 council meeting, North Liberty city officials approved their new policy for naming and renaming city facilities, all with their hearts and minds on a request from the Big O Foundation to rename the local field after Skelley, a local student athlete in North Liberty who took his own life in early 2022 following a bout with mental illness. The Big O Foundation was created in his memory to aid young people across the community deal with mental illness while also spreading education about suicide awareness.

During the meeting, members from the foundation bravely spoke about the issue, packing the room with supporters, family and friends all supporting the cause. In all, six members, including board members, friends and teammates came before the board, sharing the story of the foundation and their hope of seeing the foundation help fund future projects that would pay in some way recognize Owen.

Finally, Owen’s dad, Joe, took the microphone, where he urged the city to enter into a partnership with the foundation so that they can use the field to advocate for mental health awareness and to honor his son.

“Like many others, Owen loved the game and lived to play from those who live here locally to all those visiting from out of town,” he said in a video posted to Facebook. “We can all relate to certain struggles in life. Driving or walking by the field, enjoying watching games from the stands or competing, this field could play a major role in breaking the barrier to start conversation and work towards eliminating the stigma. Like many other issues and practices from our past, the stigma towards mental health is outdated. It's run its course. And only should exist in history books, not to limit and hinder our ability to function in 2023 and beyond. The Big O Foundation, along with so many in the community, will take care of the legwork and promote education and awareness. We all share an inherent objective. We have to do something because doing nothing is not an option.”

 After discussing the idea among themselves, Council member Brent Smith read his comments in full support of the renaming, with board members sharing that they were blown away by the groundswell of support for the move. The plan now calls for a final vote at a future date.