Texas Rangers, MLB reveal community projects, plans for $7M All-Star Legacy initiative

The All-Star Game and the accompanying hoopla will come to Arlington and be gone in less than a week’s time in mid-July.

The Rangers intend to make the impact last far longer and extend from Arlington to points east and west.

On Wednesday, the team, along with Major League Baseball, announced details of a $7 million initiative designed to benefit children, veterans and first responders and low-income families in Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth.

“We want to leave a legacy that will last beyond the All-Star Game,” MLB Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility April Brown said during a news conference at the Rangers’ Urban Youth Academy in West Dallas. “This year’s All-Star Legacy initiative delivers on both the core pillars of MLB Together and the Rangers’ ongoing commitment to the Metroplex communities by keeping youth empowerment, veteran resources, and inclusion at the forefront.”

Among the projects are replacing turf at the Rangers’ Youth Academy in West Dallas, thanks in part to a donation from pitcher Jacob deGrom, and at Senter Park in Arlington, thanks to a donation from Corey Seager. Pitcher Jon Gray, the team’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee for community service in 2023, made a significant donation to the Adaptive Training Foundation, based in Carrollton, which provides physical and mental rehabilitation for veterans and first responders who have suffered catastrophic injuries resulting in paralysis or amputation.

MLB Together, the league’s social cause platform, began the All-Star Legacy initiative in 1997 and has since raised nearly $110 million for community projects at All-Star Game host sites. The Rangers’ only other All-Star Game took place in 1995, two years before the program began.

The $7 million investment is one of the largest ever made in this program. Last year, about $2.5 million was raised for the Seattle area.

The Rangers and their charitable foundation, helmed by Senior Vice President Karin Morris, aimed for a bold investment that impacted not just Arlington, but the entire community.

“We looked at this as more of a wish list,” Morris said. “What would you do if you could address all of your wants, not just your needs. We wanted to make an impact on each of our communities. For this to be authentic to the Rangers, it had to invest in all of our communities.”

The Rangers’ effort also benefited from the team’s World Series run. The Rangers are the first defending World Series champion to host an All-Star Game since 1939. The Rangers had six home postseason games at which to sell their 50/50 raffle tickets, of which half the proceeds go to an in-stadium winner and half to the Rangers Baseball Foundation. More than $650,000 was raised through the post-season raffles alone.

The full list of projects:

Rangers Youth Academy, West Dallas: The academy, which has served over 125,000 youths since it opened in West Dallas in 2017, will get a badly-needed turf replacement for a field that had been previously grass and dirt. It will be replaced by repurposed artificial turf and, not just any turf, but that which was “harvested” from Globe Life Field after last year’s World Series. It will help eliminate rain-outs at the facility, which will host 32 boys and girls teams for tournaments during All-Star Week.

Senter Park, Arlington: Two fields will be completely renovated at the park, along with the construction of batting cages, thanks in part to Seager. The project is aimed at increasing access to youth leagues by those most impacted by play equity barriers, “specifically youth from diverse and low-income backgrounds.”

Northside Boys and Girls Club, Fort Worth: The project will include resurfacing of the club’s sports court, reorganization of teen space to include new STEM and workforce development work area and renovation of the music program area, used by nearly 500 kids per year.

Most Inclusive Workout, Adaptive Training Foundation, Carrollton: The Rangers and MLB will partner to sponsor several adaptive athletes through the ATF’s flagship ReDefine Program.

Medical Clinic Expansion, Mission Arlington: The Rangers and MLB are supporting an expansion of the clinic to seven patient rooms and a triage room, specifically designated towards the clinic’s new pediatric rooms.

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.