MLB To Open First Baseball Academy In Compton, CA.

Major League Baseball, as part of its Urban Youth Initiative, will break ground on its first Youth Baseball Academy this fall on the campus of Compton Community College in Compton, CA, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. Selig announced.

The purpose of the Urban Youth Initiative is four-fold: 1) to grow the game of baseball while, at the same time, cultivating diversity in all aspects of the game; 2) to make meaningful contributions to the development of minority communities; 3) to provide safe, organized recreational activities for urban youth; and 4) to prepare minority high school players for college and professional baseball and softball programs.

“Major League Baseball is very pleased to launch its Urban Youth Initiative and its first Youth Baseball Academy here and is grateful to the people of Compton and our partners at Compton Community College for making this possible,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “We are also grateful to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Anaheim Angels for their wholehearted support and enthusiasm.

“Although the Youth Baseball Academy will not be located in the City of Los Angeles, Major League Baseball would like to express its heartfelt thanks to those who have been so passionate about bringing this unique facility to this region. The Academy will serve the entire Southern California area, including Los Angeles.

“We are deeply committed to rejuvenating interest in baseball among urban boys and girls and this program is a natural next step. It is our hope that this Youth Baseball Academy and those that follow will promote diversity within our sport, and ultimately will produce many future Major League Baseball players, employees, and fans.”

The Baseball Academy program gives Major League Baseball a bricks and mortar presence that complements another urban initiative promoted by MLB, the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) Program, which currently attracts more than 120,000 kids worldwide. The RBI World Series, in fact, begins tomorrow in Houston.

The Baseball Academy will be designed to increase the recreational and developmental skills of children, ages 11 through 17. It will feature baseball and softball instruction for both boys and girls as well as clinics and classroom instruction on such related activities as coaching, umpiring, scouting, ground crew work, and journalistic and public relations skills. “This is a grand day for Major League Baseball, Compton Community College and our surrounding communities,” said Ulis C. Williams, Superintendent/ President of Compton Community College. “This opportunity will enable all involved to teach, learn and make history. The first Major League Baseball Youth Academy in the United States will be housed on our campus.

This effort will serve to highlight the contributions minorities have made to this country and to Major League Baseball.”
Major League Baseball will build four fields — two regulation baseball fields, one softball field and one youth field — on more than 20 acres of property on the Compton Community College Campus at an initial cost of $3 million, and plans to have the Academy operational during the summer of 2004. Major League Baseball will operate the facility and work with local youth organizations to identify candidates for the Academy. It is expected that several hundred boys and girls ultimately will attend the Academy, which will have access to Compton Community College facilities, such as class rooms, computer rooms, locker rooms, and refreshment stands.