Interesting way to develop a youth-baseball complex: the new 90-foot baseball diamond for the 2014 season at The Ripken Experience – Myrtle Beach complex will be a replica of Crosley Field.
Crosley Field, of course, was the long-time home of the Cincinnati Reds.
“As The Ripken Experience continues to host the top young talent from across the country and globe, we plan for Crosley Field to become one of our premier fields,” said Glenn Tilley, president of Ripken Baseball. “We constantly want to provide players with a safe, high-quality complex for all athletic competitions and programming.”
Crosley Field will be the complex’s fourth 90-foot diamond used for baseball’s elite teams, ages 13 years old and up. The three other 90-foot diamonds, Griffith Stadium, Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, have hosted over 8,000 games since the facility opened in 2006.
The Ripken Experience – Myrtle Beach operates youth baseball tournaments, college and high school spring training and specialty programming. The facility hosted over 1,100 travel baseball and softball teams during the 2013 operating season, which ends in November. The project is from Extra Bases LLC, a joint venture between Ripken Baseball Inc. and Burroughs & Chapin Company Inc.
“Today is a very proud day for Ripken Baseball and our partners at Burroughs & Chapin,” said Ripken Experience General Manger Bobby Holland. “We have remained committed to quality for our customers over the years and are excited about the continued growth and improvements to the facility.”
Construction of Crosley Field will begin this fall and the project will take approximately 2 months to complete. Ripken Sports, a newly formed alliance between Ripken Baseball Inc., and Georgia-based sports general contractor FIELDS, Inc. will perform the construction. Since 2011, FIELDS, Inc. has constructed Ebbets Field and resurfaced Griffith Field and Polo Grounds at the facility. The company has also performed major field projects with NFL, MLB, collegiate and amateur complexes across the country.
In the past three years The Ripken Experience – Myrtle Beach has completed more than $4.5 million dollars in renovations and expansions to the complex. Those have included the addition of Ebbets Field in 2011 (the facility’s third 90-foot diamond), the resurfacing of Griffith Field and the Polo Grounds in 2012 and 2013 respectively, and the addition of a restroom facility and expansions to the food court and pro-shop. Crosley Field will increase older age group capacity by more than 100 teams during the 2014 operating season.
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