The University of Illinois-Chicago’s Curtis Granderson Stadium will host the inaugural GEICO Baseball City Series, a high-school baseball tournament taking place next month. This inaugural event features four All-Star teams comprised of high school players from Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City representing their cities and the sport of high school baseball on a national stage.
The team rosters are selected by the high school governing body from each city; Chicago Public Schools Athletics (CPS), California Interscholastic Federation-Los Angeles City Section (CIF-LACS), Greater Miami Athletic Conference for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (GMAC) and the New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL).
The four participating teams will play eight total games over four days; six pool play round robin games, with the third place and championship games taking place on Thursday, July 11, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The event will be held at Les Miller Field at Curtis Granderson Stadium, University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC).
GEICO Baseball City Series Game Schedule:
(All times listed are Eastern Standard Time)
- Monday, July 8
- Pool play Game 1 – New York vs. Chicago at 2 p.m.
- Pool play Game 2 – Miami vs. Los Angeles at 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 9
- Pool play Game 3 – Chicago vs. Miami at 2 p.m.
- Pool play Game 4 – Los Angeles vs New York at 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, July 10
- Pool play Game 5 –Miami vs. New York at 2 p.m.
- Pool play Game 6 – Los Angeles vs Chicago at 5 p.m.
- Thursday, July 11
- Third-place game at 3 p.m. on ESPNU
- Championship game at 6 p.m. on ESPNU
“Adding the GEICO Baseball City Series is a natural extension in our efforts to showcase the top high school athletes in the country,” said Dan Margulis, senior director of programming and acquisitions. “This inaugural event will add to our existing baseball portfolio, which includes more than 800 regular season college baseball games and an extensive rights agreement with MLB.”
“We are excited to collaborate with ESPN to bring high school baseball to the national stage and to host this unique event in the great baseball city of Chicago“, said Rashid Ghazi, partner at Paragon Marketing Group, which owns and operates the GEICO Baseball City Series. “This is a special opportunity for these student-athletes to showcase their talent on a national stage, proudly represent their hometowns and receive an enriching experience while competing in the sport they love.”
Curtis Granderson Stadium is named for UIC graduate and current Miami Marlins outfielder Curtis Granderson, whose $5-million gift — thought to be the largest single gift from a pro athlete to their alma mater — provided half the funding for the $10-million facility. Originally opening in 2014, the ballpark also hosts the Chicago Baseball Educational Academy, welcoming over 10,000 Chicago area youth annually at the indoor and outdoor facility.
Curtis Granderson Stadium’s debut in 2014 was recognized with our Editor’s Choice Award. The ballpark has served a dual purpose by not only providing a solid college baseball facility, but also for representing a needed addition to the community baseball scene. From a design perspective, it is notable in that the Chicago skyline serves as its backdrop (as seen in the photo above). Some of our prior coverage of Curtis Granderson Stadium can be found below.
RELATED STORIES: 2014 Editor’s Choice Award: Granderson Stadium; Curtis Granderson Stadium / University of Illinois at Chicago Flames