This year’s All-Star Week will take place in Washington, DC. The best players from the MLB’s 30 teams will come together in the nation’s capital to battle it out in various competitions like Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
The Washington Post projected last year that All-Star Week in DC could bring $100 million of benefit to the area. The last two All-Star Weeks have raised more than $80 million in both Miami and San Diego, the previous two host cities. Cincinnati saw a $60 million benefit when they hosted the 2015 All-Star Week.
The Washington DC Business Journal reported that the city is eager to host a future Olympic bid after losing their 2024 bid. Hosting big events like MLB All-Star Week is a great way to prove that the city is up for the challenge. The DC metro is even staying open late for the Home Run Derby on July 16th and the All Star Game on July 17th, something that doesn’t usually happen even for major concerts in the city.
While baseball’s stars are in Washington, DC, the week’s agenda includes plans to make a significant impact in the Washington community. This is a part of the All-Star Legacy initiative that the MLB and the All-Star Game implement in each host city. Since it’s start in 1997, initiatives have donated nearly $85 million to charities around the country.
All-Star Week is implementing seven community projects surrounding the 2018 festivities in partnership with the MLB’s Washington Nationals and the Nationals Dream Foundation. The seven projects should raise nearly $5 million in donations to partially support local DC, Maryland and Virginia communities.
The local projects will use just about $2 million of the $5 million that is expected to be raised as a part of the All-Star Legacy initiative. The other $3 million will go to support national charities like the Jackie Robinson Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Stand Up To Cancer.
We took a closer look at the local projects and what benefits they will bring to the DC community.
Youth Baseball Field Renovations
Funds raised for All-Star Week this year will allow for a renovation of the youth baseball field at Walker Mill Regional Park in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The renovation will include a new irrigation system, a new scoreboard, covered dugouts and batting cages. Another one of the seven projects includes similar renovations of two baseball fields in Fairfax County, Virginia at Fred Crabtree Park.
Nationals Youth Baseball Academy
Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is located in Ward 7, one of the more impoverished parts of DC. The academy provides children from the community with quality youth development programs, including classrooms, baseball and softball diamonds, a teaching kitchen and garden, and indoor training space and more. All-Star Week will fund the building of an “all-star pavilion” for the academy. This will provide the academy with space for batting cages.
So Others Might Eat
So Others Might Eat is an affordable housing complex in Northwest D.C. that accommodates 37 families with more than 100 children. All-Star Week will provide funds to support the construction of a playground, computer lab, teen room and community room at the facility.
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington: Richard England Clubhouse
The Richard England Clubhouse is located in Northeast D.C. and services for children in Ward 7 each year. The festivities surrounding All-Star Week will raise money for the renovation of the teen room at the facility.
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations (USO) is dedicated to keeping our nation’s military members connected to their families and country throughout their time of service. They have centers nearby all military installations in the US and around the world to provide hospitality to the military members and their families. All-Star Week 2018 will provide funds for the renovation of a logistics facility at Fort Belvoir in Virginia that stores non perishable goods and supplies delivered on a weekly basis to the nine USO locations in the DC metro area.
New Mobile Dental Unit
The final project that will be created from funds from All-Star Week will be a mobile dental unit that will serve DC Wards 7 and 8, along with Prince George’s County. This mobile unit will be in partnership with Children’s Hospital and will bring dental health professionals to the communities directly to service children that live there.
So while you are watching the best of the best battle it out, know that the festivities are leaving a legacy of service in the local DC area.
SOURCES:
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- http://www.baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/all_star_game_economic_impact.shtml
- https://wtop.com/dc/2018/06/metro-to-stay-open-late-for-mlb-all-star-game-home-run-derby/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2018/05/02/after-the-mlb-all-star-game-in-d-c-these-seven-community-projects-will-be-its-legacy/?utm_term=.d784ceec783e
- http://menslifedc.com/2018/05/02/dc-to-host-all-star-game-plus-benefits-from-all-star-legacy-initiatives/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/07/14/the-2018-mlb-all-star-game-could-bring-100-million-to-d-c-economists-say/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.04c88ee640b8
- https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/07/26/economic-boost-for-d-c-from-mlb-all-star-game.html
- http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/youth-baseball-academy/about-us/our-facility/
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