MLB and the Texas Rangers announce the 2024 All-Star Legacy initiative
Arlington, TX – Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers, and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation today announced the 2024 All-Star Legacy initiative, which seeks to leave behind a meaningful impact in the greater Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington communities. Through this special effort during the 2024 Midsummer Classic, Major League Baseball, under the MLB Together platform (www.MLBTogether.com), the Texas Rangers and several long-time Rangers community partners will make a combined investment of nearly $7 million into projects aimed at providing access to baseball and softball for youth, while also supporting local veterans and diverse communities.
The 2024 All-Star Legacy initiative will include field renovations in surrounding community ballparks at Senter Park Field in Arlington and the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy in West Dallas. Additionally, funds will be contributed toward projects supporting veterans living in Texas and a local Boys & Girls Club. The Rangers have been longstanding supporters of local Boys & Girls Clubs. Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the official charitable partner of MLB and has been a consistent beneficiary of the All-Star Legacy program since its inception. The 2024 All-Star Legacy Projects will be commemorated leading up to the 94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. Nearly $110 million has been contributed by MLB and host Clubs to local communities through the All-Star Legacy initiative since its inception in 1997.
“We have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with the Rangers with our 2023 World Series Legacy and now the 2024 All-Star Legacy efforts,” said April Brown, Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility, Major League Baseball. “This year’s All-Star Legacy initiative delivers on both the core pillars of MLB Together and the Rangers ongoing commitment to their Metroplex communities by keeping youth empowerment, veteran resources, and inclusion at the forefront.”
“The Texas Rangers and the Rangers Baseball Foundation are proud to join with Major League Baseball and our tremendous community partners on these very impactful 2024 All-Star Legacy initiatives,” said Texas Rangers President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer Neil Leibman. “For over 30 years, the Rangers Baseball Foundation has been dedicated to improving the lives of those in the community, especially youth and the military through programs focused on education, health, and athletics. We want to thank our partners under the MLB Together platform for their efforts, and we look forward to a great week of All-Star events this July.”
“With improvements to enhance the experience of the players and their fans, this investment will create a first-class youth baseball field at Arlington’s beloved Senter Park and a lasting legacy that will serve generations of youth athletes to come,” Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said.
“I am incredibly grateful for the All-Star Legacy initiative and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation’s commitment to invest in Dallas,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “As a lifelong fan of baseball and the Texas Rangers, I am particularly excited about the investment in the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy, which will fund field renovations and make the great sports of baseball and softball accessible to more Dallas’ youth.”
"Fort Worth is proud to support the Texas Rangers as our home team, and it is an honor to have the organization invest in meaningful projects that strengthen our community,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “Together, we can create more opportunity for more kids in North Texas, and the 2024 All-Star Legacy initiative investment in the Northside Boys and Girls Club will have a truly meaningful impact on countless children and families in our city."
2024 All-Star Legacy Projects
Field Renovation at Senter Park – Renamed “MLB | Texas Rangers All-Star Legacy Park” – This project will create an enhanced baseball experience in Arlington’s historic baseball park with renovations that serve local youth leagues while increasing access to those most impacted by play equity barriers, specifically youth from diverse and low-income backgrounds. The installation will be done in partnership with the City of Arlington, Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, Optimist Club of Arlington, Graham Civil, Paragon Sports Construction as well as 2023 World Series MVP Corey Seager and his wife Mady. Adding these new upgrades that is easily accessible to the community will level the playing field and encourage baseball play.
“Field of Dreams” MLB | Texas Rangers All-Star Legacy Field Turf Replacement – This project at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy will include field leveling and installing repurposed turf from Globe Life Field – the very turf used during the 2023 World Series. Also included will be the installation of new fencing, netting, scoreboards, shade structures over existing bleachers, and building brand-new dugouts, directly improving the quality of the field and the number of children who can safely play despite heavy rainstorms. Last year, the Rangers Youth Academy lost over two months of play due to rainouts. Currently, the program has an ongoing enrollment of nearly 5,000 unique participants annually and 125,000 since its opening, with numbers expected to increase with the announcement of this groundbreaking project.
Most Inclusive Workout Adaptive Training Foundation – With Texas being home to more veterans than any state in the Nation, MLB, the Rangers Foundation and Rangers organization honor and celebrate those who serve our country and make it a mission to support them and their families. In 2022, the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation selected Adaptive Training Foundation (ATF) as a 50th Anniversary Legacy Grant recipient. ATF provides physical and mental rehabilitation for veterans and individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries that result in paralysis or amputation or those that suffer from the internal injuries that so many veterans face. Their programs are designed to help these adaptive athletes create sustainable lifestyle changes to improve their own health, their interpersonal relationships, and outlook. Currently, anyone who becomes part of the program travels to the ATF gym in North Texas, with housing and expenses covered for the athletes. The Foundation’s leave-behind gift will be to fund a mobile training lab that will expand their programming to other parts of Texas. The Rangers and MLB will partner to sponsor several adaptive athletes through ATF’s flagship, ReDefine program. This sponsorship includes: 9 weeks of individualized mental and physical training, mindfulness and meditation training, access to onsite physical therapists, nutrition pre- and post-training, transportation, housing and a one-week adaptive, outdoor recreation trip all free of charge to them.
Renovation of MLB | Texas Rangers All-Star STEAM Room and Sports Court at Northside Boys & Girls Club – The Northside Boys & Girls Club in Fort Worth supports nearly 800 members daily and provides nearly 2,300 youth with services annually. One of the oldest clubs in the region, it opened in 1935, the teen area and music studio needed significant repairs and uplifts. The project will include resurfacing of the club’s sports court to provide for safer and more functional playing environment; reorganization of teen space to include new STEAM and workforce development work area; redesign, paint and decorations to include Rangers and MLB marks; and renovation of the music program area used by nearly 500 kids per year.
The All-Star Legacy initiative – which also includes funding of MLB national partners Jackie Robinson Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Stand Up To Cancer – will complement a full scope of All-Star Week community, youth and diversity & inclusion-focused programs and events that will be announced at a later date. Additional community-focused efforts during the 2024 All-Star Week will be inclusive of supporting military families, celebrating children with special needs, and positive environmental sustainability practices. For more information, please visit MLBTogether.com.