Bothell’s Pop Keeney Stadium is not just a place to play sports, it’s not just a place to gather with the community in support of youth, it’s a place where one man has spent his life so that others may enjoy what the Northshore School District has to offer.

“The first time I was probably about 7 years old, coming to football games, and then on Saturdays we would come up here to try to find coins or bottles or whatever,” said Mike Dale, NSD sports complex specialist. “My brother Rex tells me, I don’t remember it, but I told him ‘One day, I’m going to run this joint.’ I run the joint now.”

When he got out of the Army in 1975, he started working for the NSD as a custodian at Bothell High School and a friend of his who was running the scoreboard would share the duties during games.

He’s been the sports complex specialist for the past 30 years and those years of working at the fields and stadiums of the Northshore School District, Dale has only missed two games – one due to a death in the family and the other from being sick.

When the kids need a place to practice during the week, Dale is there. When the Friday night lights go up, Dale is there. When the weekday sun comes out, Dale is there. He has been there since many can remember and he is still there when they return with their own kids.

“Mike was integral, and always has been, in the upkeep of this place and the great things he does for the youth in this community,” said Rob Clark, assistant coach for the Bothell Cougars Football team. “We’ve traveled a lot in 15 years, seen a lot of high school stadiums… There’s nobody that takes care of the fields like Mike… He does a great job for the community.”

Dale treats the stadium like he does his home and he makes it feel like home to anyone who visits or plays there.

Take a tour through the locker rooms and you’ll see rows of youth-sized helmets lining the window sills from the old junior high school teams that no longer play there. You’ll find signs for opposing teams so that anyone who plays at Pop Keeney feels like they are at home.

It’s the small things in life that help make this Stadium feel like CenturyLink Field, but Dale couldn’t have done it alone.

He may have the determination and the gumption to get everything done, but it takes a small army to ensure that everything is done right and done the “Dale-way”, the only way to get things done at any of the fields in the NSD.

Tammy Handel, who works with Dale at the Northshore School District, is not only a coworker of Dale’s, but a classmate from junior high school, too.

“The fields have been his passion… just something he’s always enjoyed doing,” Handel said. “I’ve been with Northshore for over 17 years and I’ve been working under Mike Dale, and it’s been a pleasure to work with him.”

For Handel, a Pop Keeney without Dale is one that she can’t imagine.

“It’s been a passion all his life, he’s put his heart into the fields,” Handel said. “I’m proud of him, and I’m proud to be a person to work for him. He’s a good person and he puts out to the community and they give back. And that’s great to see.”

Only with the help of those around him and support from the community, has Dale kept Pop Keeney as amazing as it is, as great for youth as it is.

Dale is one of the few who have been given game balls when he’s not associated with any of the teams. He was even flown to Florida last weekend with the Bothell Cougars for their national game at Florida Atlantic University on Saturday.

Dale is part of the team. He’s been a part of each school’s team since the parents of current students had played at the Northshore stadiums and fields.

Dale isn’t just the ‘Mayor of Pop Keeney’ as many like to call him, he’s the Commander-in-Chief, the Minister of Youth Fields… the head of an army of people, ready at a moment’s notice, to ensure that Northshore School District has not just great fields, but the best fields in Washington State and across the Nation.

Bryan Maxfield first met Dale while working concessions at their junior football games.

“I was in cleaning the concession stand one day and he says ‘if you want to come and work for me part time, let me know,’ so I thought, ‘yeah,’” Maxfield said.

That was back in 1996 and Maxfield has been there ever since.

“I can tell you one thing, everything he does its 120 percent, we do it the right way, it’s first class…,” Maxfield said. “And I think the kids appreciate that, they walk into a real nice facility and have a little extra pride.”

Many people join Handel in not being able to imagine the sports complex without its mayor.

“I’ll tell you one thing, when people, whether adults or kids, step off the bus to play a football game, it’s kinda like they’re going into a big-time forum,” Maxfield said. “Those kids… they think they’re stepping into the big-time when they roll into Pop Keeney.”

The stadiums and fields of NSD just wouldn’t be the same, wouldn’t be the quality they are, if it weren’t for the sure-headed and strong-willed person that is Dale. Not just the right way the first time, but the “Dale-way” at 120 percent all the time.

“He’s a top-notch guy, poured his whole life into Northshore School Districts, in one capacity or another,” Maxfield said. “Without him, the games going to go on, the facility will go on, … but would it be as smooth? I don’t think so. Would it be as clean? I don’t think so. He’s been a real asset to the Northshore School District and to the community.”