UNVEILING CEREMONY AT MABSON FIELD TO TAKE PLACE
MONDAY, MAY 5TH, 2014
April 28, 2014 – RBI Austin announced today that the unveiling of an artificial turf playing field at East Austin’s Mabson Field (2812 E. 12th St.) will take place on May 5th at 6:30pm CST. The entire community is encouraged to attend.
Former MLB players, softball Olympian Cat Osterman and Cathy Bradley, the Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, will be in attendance. To kick off the ceremony, the band Reckless Kelly will be singing the national anthem. A Jr. RBI baseball/softball clinic will take place immediately following the ceremony.
Mabson Field is located in the heart of one of the most under-resourced neighborhoods in Austin. The field will serve boys & girls ages 4 -12 as RBI Austin and Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA) partner to use the field for Little League spring baseball/softball, the Jr. RBI Summer League, and year-round Jr. RBI clinics. Planning for the project started three years ago, and actual construction began in January.
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association awarded a grant in the amount of $110,000 to RBI Austin to aid in the project. The funding assisted with the purchase and installation of the first ever AstroTurf youth baseball field in Austin. The field will be a true gem and bring interest back to the game in East Austin like it hasn’t seen in decades – possibly since the time Jackie Robinson played at the adjacent college baseball field, Downs Field.
In addition to the funding provided by the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, the project was made possible through a partnership with Reckless Kelly, the Round Rock Express, Ryan Sanders Baseball, the Nolan Ryan Foundation and AstroTurf.
“We’re excited about Mabson Field and what it can do,” said Reese Ryan, CEO of Ryan Sanders Baseball and co-owner of the Round Rock Express. “Baseball has been great to our family, and we couldn’t be happier to partner with Reckless Kelly to help RBI Austin and some very deserving kids.”
Reckless Kelly’s Cody Braun stated, “To take part in such amazing projects like the rebuilding of Mabson Field and to be able to give back to the Austin community by helping kids play baseball is exactly why we started this event 6 years ago. We are honored to be working with such amazing people and are excited to see everyone’s hard work paying off in such a big way!”
RBI Austin founder Matt Price added, “The new Mabson Field will be a game changer in the East Austin community. This beautiful field will bring restoration to not just youth baseball and softball – but to the community at large as kids are invested in by caring coaches and mentors. We cannot thank enough the key partners who have made this project possible for inner-city Austin youth and families.”
Parents, sign up your kids for this Jr. RBI clinic by clicking HERE!