The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Fort Dupont Park broke ground Tuesday morning, finally fulfilling a promise the team made to the city more than six years ago. Construction of the academy was made possible last June when the National Capital Planning Commission approved the transfer of 15 acres of federal parkland from the National Park Service to the District.
Construction is funded through $10.2 million from the District, without which Nats officials said it wouldn’t be possible to break ground this year. The Washington Nationals are donating $3.5 million for construction and operating costs and will manage the academy year-round.
The academy was promised by the team to the city as part of its deal in getting a new ballpark. The team moved here in 2005, and Nationals Park opened in 2008. More than half a decade after its promise, the team is breaking ground on an inner city baseball academy.
“I am happy that the years of planning and negotiations now have brought us closer to providing underserved children a place to not only participate in America’s favorite pastime, but to also develop the teamwork skills that will benefit them for a lifetime,” D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said Tuesday.
Norton, Mayor Vincent Gray, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, Washington Nationals Dream Foundation Chairwoman Marla Tanenbaum, NPS Director John Jarvis and other officials were at the groundbreaking.
