Batter Up at Roberto Clemente State Park

Families who visit Roberto Clemente State Park are gaining a larger youth baseball and softball academy through a partnership between New York State, Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Harlem RBI. The renovated baseball and softball facility will be funded by $6.5 million in state funds, $4 million from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, and $750,000 from New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. The new facility will be named the MLB Youth Academy at Roberto Clemente State Park and will serve 1,500 youth, tripling the current number of children participating in the park’s baseball and softball programs.

The new multi-purpose field, which the MLB Youth Academy will call home, will be built north of the existing baseball field. Harlem RBI will utilize the new facility to offer both baseball and softball programs for children in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Children will be able to participate in the baseball program beginning in spring 2017 and softball in spring 2018.

The MLB Youth Academy is a part of something larger for Roberto Clemente State Park, as the park embarks on a $50 million transformation. The park makeover is part of Governor Cuomo’s commitment to revitalizing the state park system through the NY Parks 2020 program. Other projects at the park include rebuilding the park’s bulkhead along the Harlem River, rehabilitating the upper plaza and revitalizing the park’s northern shoreline.