2nd 'Tommy's Field' opens in West Los Angeles in honor of 12-year-old soccer player who died in sleep

LOS ANGELES - Tuesday marked a bittersweet day for the Mark family as the youth sports community unveiled a second field in his son's honor – this time in West Los Angeles.

The unveiling ceremony serves as the culmination of a parents' hard work to keep their son's memory alive at "Tommy's Field" at the Vista Del Mar School on Motor Avenue.

"Today is such a meaningful day," said Tommy's mother Nikki Mark. "Sharing Tommy's spirit of play."

Nikki and her husband Mark had been working toward Tommy's Field for years. Their son died in his sleep in 2018 – just days shy of his 13th birthday. To this day, his parents say doctors don't know why.

"For us, it's mystical and the reasons don't really change the outcome," Nikki Mark said. "So we just try to pour his spirit into our lives."

Nikki had shared her vision to Tommy a few days before he died.

"I told him I was thinking of doing something for the community and building a field to refurbish an existing dirt one and he said, ‘That’s so cool, Mom. I can’t wait to play on it,'" she recalled. "And 3 days later he was gone."

The first field was built in Westwood. Now, the second field has a home in West Los Angeles. The fields serve children Pre-K to age 22 and is accessible to athletes with special needs.

"We saw the kids and we said, ‘Tommy definitely needs us to build another field’ here at Vista Del Mar," Tommy's dad Doug Mark said.

The LA Galaxy was among the sponsors of Mark's project. The MLS team's mascot Cosmo was joined by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to celebrate the opening of Tommy's Field at Vista Del Mar School.

It's all a part of the family's push to carry on Tommy's soccer mantra: "It's not a game. It's a lifestyle."

One field at a time.