Community steps up to the plate

From the Monarchs to the Royals, Kansas City has earned its place among baseball royalty. Today Kansas City’s crowning achievement is a legacy of support that extends from the sandlot to the professional diamond.

Ewing Kauffman stepped up to the plate to bring winning baseball to his hometown and innovations that reshaped the game. Kaufman built a model professional sports franchise that delivered a perennial pennant contender and a World Series champion.

Today, baseball fans in Kansas City can take in a Royals game at Kauffman Stadium and pay tribute to the legends honored at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Julia Irene Kauffman pitched in with a $1 million grant to museum that’s been matched this year by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association. Recognizing this key city asset, the Kauffman Foundation has also invested to support the museum’s programming and growth.

The Royals Urban Youth Academy is next up in Kansas City’s renown baseball lineup. The Kansas City Royals will run the nation’s seventh Major League Baseball Academy on 21 acres just blocks from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. This investment by the Major League Baseball, the Royals, and many partners in Kansas City, includes a $1 million grant from the Kauffman Foundation. The baseball and softball complex with a walking trail, basketball and tennis courts, playground, and great lawn will provide boys and girls from the city’s urban core with opportunities to learn from some of the game’s best players and coaches and connect them with nonprofit services to support academic and job training. The facilities will also host community events, tournaments, coaching clinics, and skills camps.