Ashburn Field gets AstroTurf upgrade as part of All-Star Week initiatives

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA — Thirty years after Major League Baseball first invested in Ashburn Field at FDR Park, the league returned to South Philadelphia to unveil an AstroTurf field that will serve young athletes for years to come.

The project is the latest investment MLB has made in Philadelphia's youth baseball community, continuing a partnership that began with the 1996 All-Star Game. The field will serve about 8,000 participants in the Phillies RBI and Youth Academy programs, while providing a weather-resistant playing surface in an area where rain often forces cancellations.

Back in 1989, Phillies Director of Amateur Scouting Administration Rob Holiday was involved in the first RBI program, which only served players ages 12 and under. Little League-sized fields throughout the city were all that was needed.

In the early 1990s, as the players in the program got older, there was a need for larger, regulation-sized baseball fields to accommodate them. There were not many in the city, and the existing ones were not in good condition.

That soon changed.

After the 1996 All-Star Game came to Philadelphia, Ashburn Field, named after Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, was built in 1998 using funds generated from the game.

"Now, here we are in 2026, and MLB has stepped up once again," Holiday said. "MLB has now provided the kids of our city with a state-of-the-art turf field.

In 2007, MLB executive Jimmie Lee Solomon, who passed away in 2020, came to Holiday and offered to help the program once again. Solomon provided the Phillies with the seed money to build their academy and later helped upgrade Ashburn Field with a press box, bleachers and a new scoreboard, among other enhancements, in 2015.

Soon after, two softball fields at FDR Park were renovated, along with indoor and outdoor facilities at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, allowing athletes to train year-round.

The artificial turf is significant because the groundwater level in the area is very high, and it can take days for the fields to dry after rain. Ashburn Field hosts about 125 events each year, and nearly 30 percent of them are lost because of the weather.

"For All-Star Week, we have the pleasure and honor to start the week before the game and invest in our communities around us," said April Brown, MLB Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility. "This would not be possible without all of us coming together to invest in the sport that we love, to provide access to play that sport, and to leave a lasting legacy far beyond our All-Star Game."

Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson also took a moment to share his gratitude, emphasizing how important the investment is. Johnson has watched the area grow since he was young.

"I'm born and raised in South Philadelphia, all my life. This is my former playground as a young man," Johnson said. "So it's great to have this opportunity to come here and see the refurbished Ashburn field, but most importantly, the investment in our young people."

With all of the sporting events taking place in Philadelphia this year, Mike Barsotti, Director of Youth Sports for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, said local softball and baseball organizations have told him registration numbers are skyrocketing this summer.

"We need to give families these affordable, accessible, but high-quality options by placing really big, meaningful assets like this in the heart of the city," Barsotti said. "It's going to make a huge difference for decades. I know the All-Star Game will come and go, but a lot of us here will always remember where this came from."

The first game on the new turf featured the Phillies and Cincinnati Reds youth academies in the Commissioner's Cup after both teams warmed up in the background during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, with the Phillie Phanatic assisting.

Representing the Ashburn family was David Ashburn Morrison, Ashburn's grandson. Alongside him was Phillies Urban Youth Academy pitcher Jayden Quesada, representing the future generation of baseball. The two threw ceremonial first pitches to former Phillies All-Star Mickey Morandini, a member of the 1993 National League championship team, and Dickie Noles, a member of the Phillies' 1980 World Series championship team.