Rockies ground-breaking at academy in Dominican Republic

DENVER - The Colorado Rockies broke ground this past Saturday, April 14th on a state of the art Dominican Republic Academy in Jubey, Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. Once completed, the academy will be the office and home for all Rockies Latin American operations, including the Rockies Dominican Summer League Team.

"Saturday was a very exciting day for the Colorado Rockies," said Bill Geivett Rockies Vice President - Scouting and Player Development/Assistant General Manager. "We have always had a strong presence in Latin America, but our new academy will greatly benefit our staff and young players not only in their baseball pursuits, but in language and education as well."

Among the Rockies personnel that took part in the ceremonial groundbreaking was: Executive Vice President - CFO and General Counsel Hal Roth, Director of International Scouting Rolando Fernandez and Senior Director of Medical Operations and Special Projects Tom Probst. Additionally, Rockies Latin America Field Coordinator Edison Lora, Manager of Dominican Republic Operations Jhonathan Leyba, Complex Coordinator Ana Espinal and several team members from the Rockies Summer League team also made ceremonial digs in the ceremony.

Latin American Architectural Firm GVA designed the Rockies new Dominican Academy, which is projected to cost approximately $6.0-million. The academy will house approximately 80 players and consist of two buildings. The buildings will include: a full clubhouse, administrative offices, dormitory style living for players, living quarters for staff, training/weight room, cafeteria, entertainment room, computer room and classroom. The academy will also include two full sized baseball fields, one half field, batting cages and pitching mounds.

The academy is scheduled to open in the summer of 2013.