MLB Youth Academy

The MLB Youth Academy was a proposed baseball and softball training facility to be developed by Major League Baseball Youth Foundation at George Ward Park in 2019.

Under the $9 to $10 million proposal, the existing ballfields would be reconfigured and a new building constructed to house the academy on 20 acres of the 120-acre park. It would offer free and low-cost training to Birmingham youth, host youth baseball and softball leagues, and also provide academic and career readiness programs.

Tony Reagins, Major League Baseball's executive vice president for baseball and softball development, presented the league's plans to the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association on March 4. He came away from the meeting discouraged, saying "in this instance, there was a lot of misinformation being communicated. Once facts were provided, the neighborhood was still not supportive." He shared the following day that MLB planned to reassess and consider other locations in the city, and elsewhere.

The Birmingham City Council delayed its vote on approving a measure until March 19, but did then vote to allow Mayor Randall Woodfin to negotiate details of an agreement. In April the league announced that Birmingham was no longer under consideration for a Youth Academy, and that it was looking at Vero Beach, Florida, instead.

As of 2024, MLB operates nine youth academies in Washington D.C.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles, ,California; Arlington, Texas; Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. A tenth is projected for Bronx, New York. The league also operates a baseball academy and high school in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

References

• Beahm, Anna (March 5, 2019) "MLB ‘reassessing’ youth academy at George Ward Park." {{BN]}
• Beahm, Anna & Roy S. Johnson (April 17, 2024) "Major League Baseball abandons plans for $10 million academy at Birmingham’s George Ward Park." The Birmingham News