The new full-sized multi-purpose field was to be one of the showcase attractions in the development of Brookline Park in the 1970s. After pressure from parents and Little League officials, and the threat of a cancelled baseball season in 1976, development of the new ballfield began in earnest in the summer of 1976.

The outlining drainage gutters were laid out first, then the earthmover leveled off the playing field. Finally, the top soil was painstakingly spread by one man and a tractor. The field was completed in June of 1977, and the Brookline Senior League moved to it's new home shortly afterwards.

The first game on the new Senior field was played in July 1977. In Senior Little League action, the Brookline Lions Club, coached by Ted Gielas, played Coach Danny McGibbeny's Stebbrook Healthland. The game was won by the Lions.

For the ballplayers, accustomed to playing on a short field with a high fence, it was quite a difference playing baseball on such a large field.

Coach McGibbeny passed away later that year after a battle with cancer. In October of 1977, the new ballfield was named in his memory.