After sizable grants from the Steve & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, the International Women’s Baseball Center (IWBC) can move forward with Phase One of Beyer Stadium renovations.
Beyer Stadium is former home to the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. While the playing field dates back to the Peaches era, there’s little else left from the Peaches era besides some ticket stands. The vision of the IWBC is to expand the park surrounding Beyer Stadium and build a International Women’s Baseball Museum designed by award-winning architect Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang as well as a working ballpark to host community activities and national and international tournaments. (We covered the Studio Gang announcement here.)
The two grants: $2 million grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, led by philanthropist and Mets owner Alex Cohen, and a $350,000 grant from the Amazin’ Mets Foundation. As part of the grants, the park surrounding Beyer Stadium, including the Women’s Baseball Gallery outdoor exhibit and picnic area, will be named Maybelle Blair Park in honor of baseball icon and IWBC founding director emeritus Maybelle Blair. A former pitcher, Blair played in 1948 for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that was made famous by the movie A League of Their Own and later played in the National Women’s Softball League. As a pioneer in women’s baseball and a lifelong advocate for girls in sports, Maybelle Blair was honored with the inaugural Amazin’ Mets Foundation Legacy Award in 2023. In addition, new bleacher seating will be named the Cohen Bleachers and the press box will be named after the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.
“Maybelle Blair is a baseball trailblazer and truly in a league of her own,” said Alex Cohen, President of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, via press release. “In her honor, we are proud to support the International Women’s Baseball Center as they inspire the next generation of players and preserve the legacy of women in baseball.”
The first round of Beyer Stadium renovations include the Cohen Bleachers, new restrooms, field regrading and sodding, irrigation, electrical upgrades, dugout upgrades, a scoreboard, foul poles, batting cages, pitching areas, and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation Press Box. Maybelle Blair Park, the green space north of the Stadium, will feature the Women’s Baseball Gallery, a major outdoor exhibit consisting of commemorative pylons honoring women’s baseball’s most significant achievements, the restoration of the historic main entrance ticket booth, and visitor-friendly walking paths and recreation areas.
“We are deeply thankful to Alex Cohen and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and Amazin’ Mets Foundation for their generous donations,” said Dr. Kat Williams, IWBC’s CEO, via press release. “Their support will make a profound and lasting impact at Beyer Stadium, Maybelle Blair Park, and throughout the Rockford community, region, nation and world. We truly appreciate their commitment to the IWBC and the future of women’s baseball, and continue our fundraising efforts to complete the entire six-acre campus and Center. We look forward to bringing the world to Rockford, Illinois.”
Besides the Mets-related foundation grants, Phase One of Beyer Stadium renovations are funded by $1,500,000 from the City of Rockford, $400,000 from Illinois State Senator Steve Stadelman, and IWBC being selected to host the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s Baseball World Cup Group Stage 2026.
The next stage–construction of the Studio Gang-designed facility–will be the most expensive part of Beyer Stadium renovations, projected to cost $22,800,000. Phase Three, projected to cost $3,000,000, covers the artifacts and exhibits built inside the museum hall, highlighted by a restored Rockford Peaches World War II era team bus. Though these are big asks, women’s baseball and softball are on the rise; Major League Baseball is making a strategic investment in the AUSL (Athletes Unlimited Softball League), the Women’s Pro Baseball League is launching in 2026, and we’ve seen some success at the box office with the summer-collegiate Northwoods League softball play.
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