A "modest" $75,000 grant from the MLBPA has evolved
into a project by Orioles 3B Cal Ripken, that will cost
$25.7M and bring both minor league and youth baseball to his
hometown of Aberdeen, MD, according to Kent Baker of the
Baltimore SUN. Ripken called the proposed facility a "one-
of-a-kind sports complex." Baker writes that the 6,000-
seat, "state-of-the-art" Ripken Stadium will be home to a
franchise in the independent Atlantic League that will begin
play this summer, most likely at a nearby community college.
Ripken will contribute $9M toward the project and be part
owner of MD Baseball Ltd, which has provided $2M. The city
of Aberdeen and Hartford County have jointly added $7M and
the final $7M will come from MD over the next three years,
which has already invested $700,000. The complex will be
built on 50 acres and contain parking, dormitories, a mess
hall, rec areas and six youth baseball diamonds constructed
as "mini-versions" of parks such as Camden Yards, Yankee
Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. The complex will
also host the annual Babe Ruth League Cal Ripken Division
World Series beginning in 2001 (Baltimore SUN, 1/27).
