Eastlake has recently formed a partnership with the American-Croatian National Soccer League and the Eastlake Titans Cricket Club.

The two projects are a culmination of the late Mayor Dennis Morley’s dream, observed Judy Moran, Eastlake administrative assistant to the mayor and fire chief.

“These are two very exciting projects that (Morley) and I worked on for quite a while and now, I have the pleasure of seeing them come to fruition,” she said.

The cricket club has set up their league play at Bruce Yee Park, 35971 Reeves Road.

The moment the cricket club reached out to the city, a great effort was made by Morley and Eastlake Recreation and Service Director Kevin Kostelnik to support the team, said Rushikesh Dhavale, the cricket club’s captain.

“It was (Kostelnik) and (Morley) who secured us this ground,” he said. “Half of my team is in and around Eastlake. Some are in Mentor, some in Willoughby, so this ground proves to be a closer ground for us.”

Currently, the Eastlake club has between 18 and 20 members, most of whom are based out of the Cleveland area with some residing downtown and on the west side.

“It’s a diverse team,” vice captain Nisarg Soni said. “We invite all. The city is supporting us a lot and that’s helpful.”

“We have players who have reached out to us that they would like to enjoy playing with us,” Dhavale added. “That’s what makes this special. We have a 19-year-old to a 35-year-old (team) all coming together, playing this.”

As an Eastlake resident who lives five minutes away from Bruce Yee, Soni feels lucky.

His position is an all rounder, in which the player bats and bowls the ball.

Originally, the club was planning to get ground right behind Soni’s home. When he visited that with Morley, Soni recalls the mayor offering other options if the club was interested.

“He was like, ‘This might be OK, but we have other options if you want to take a look,’ ” he recalled. “As soon as we got here, we were like, we are fixing this.”

Even though there are few cricket grounds in the Cleveland region, the sport is growing, Soni said.

“It’s already famous in Asia, Australia and England, but the fact that it’s growing here is super exciting,” he said.

The Eastlake club is currently in the Great Lakes Cricket Tournament, which is ongoing.

“We are toward the end of that,” Soni said. “We are almost in the playoffs.”

Additionally, the Eastlake club will soon be in a Midwest tournament.

“There’s going to be different regions like Columbus, Toledo and Pittsburgh,” Soni said. “We travel, but other teams travel here, so it goes both ways. During the summer, we are going to have longer tournaments.”

Going forward, the Eastlake club plans to not only play matches at the Bruce Yee grounds, but get together just for fun, Soni said.

“This is all about sportsmanship,” he said. “At the end of the day, we can have fun and have a good talk. The fact that we have lights, we can certainly get together for the games and have fun here. Cricket is something that I’ve been playing and most of my club members have been playing for a long time. Getting this ground — OK. Let’s do it.”

Dhavale’s vision for the ground at Bruce Yee is much bigger.

“If we can host some events for cricket for people so that all together can celebrate this moment, especially for the local people,” he said. “I see so many locals in and around, asking questions, so something that can get them together. We just got the ground. There’s so many things to do.”

Meanwhile, Eastlake has a robust Croatian population, which makes it fitting to celebrate the partnership with the soccer league, Moran said.

The partnership with the American-Croatian National Soccer League will be yet another great addition to Eastlake because national, as well as international, tournaments will take place in the city, bringing hundreds if not thousands of people to spend the weekend in Eastlake with their families, Moran said.

“In between matches, they can enjoy many amazing restaurants or take a cruise down the river in a kayak,” she said. “We also have a beautiful hotel not even a mile from the Croatian (Lodge) if they are here for the weekend. Four Points has done a renovation a few years ago, and it’s all ready to welcome the kids and their families.”

The soccer league will be located adjacent to the Eastlake Senior Center, 600 E. 349th St., and plans to take care of the grounds. The basketball courts and an area for skateboarding will remain.

“We have the new pickleball court too, so the community can take advantage of that,” Moran said.

Moran sees the partnerships flourishing over the years.

“I think it’s going to go full steam ahead,” she said.