New York Mets star outfielder and native Chicagoan Curtis Granderson will help christen the newly completed Curtis Granderson Stadium on April 17. The University of Illinois at Chicago, Granderson’s alma mater, will unveil the new ballpark with a grand opening celebration; kicking off a weekend of activities at the new ballpark.
The $10 million stadium was funded in part by $5 million from Curtis Granderson, a UIC Hall-of-Famer, three-time MLB All-Star, who’s played for Tigers, Yankees and Mets. The venue will be the new home for UIC Flames Baseball and more than 38 youth organizations in Chicago.
Granderson announced that he would fund half the ballpark in the spring of 2013. The contribution is the largest gift in UIC Athletics history, and is also the single largest known gift by a professional athlete upon their alma mater.
There will be a ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Curtis Granderson, one of MLB’s best ambassadors and one of sport’s grandest philanthropists, at the ballpark’s first ever ballgame.
Later today, I’ll have much more from this event. Some audio and video with Curtis Granderson. Perhaps even an exclusive. We’ll also have photos of Curtis Granderson stadium.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)