Jonny DeLuca & Dino Ebel join the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to break ground on Dodgers Dreamfields 61, 62 & 63 at Blair Park in the city of San Bernardino
LOS ANGELES (December 12, 2023) – The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF), with lead partner San Manuel Mission Band of Indians, will break ground on Dodgers Dreamfields 61, 62 and 63 at Blair Park in the City of San Bernardino on Thursday, December 14th. The groundbreaking ceremony, which kicks off construction of LADF’s next project, will include a shovel dedication and a short program featuring remarks from LADF CEO Nichol Whiteman, Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena from San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, City of San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, and additional partners and sponsors. Special guests include Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder Jonny DeLuca and Third-base Coach, Dino Ebel.
This $1.7 million transformative investment will support youth ages 5-18 with three refurbished fields. Crucial refurbishments at Blair Park will include new playing surfaces and grass, enclosed fields, upgraded dugouts, upgraded irrigation systems, new pitchers mound, bullpens and LED scoreboards resembling Dodger Stadium.
The groundbreaking was made possible by a nearly $1.3 million grant from lead partner San Manuel Mission Band of Indians and it is the largest gift for a Dodgers Dreamfield project to date. Additional project sponsors include Security Benefit, LA84 Foundation and the Helen and Will Webster Foundation.
Upon completion of the fields, over 9,800 youth under 18 living in San Bernardino will have access to a safe place to play and baseball and softball programming at Blair Park. The groundbreaking comes at a vital time, when 10% of San Bernardino youth are chronically absent, 77% of residents have less than a high school diploma, and only 58% of graduating students enroll in college. The City of San Bernardino hopes the project will help curtail these statistics and help maintain the city’s vibrant and unique culture and identity despite the mounting gentrification in the area.
LADF builds and refurbishes baseball and softball fields in underserved communities through the Dodgers Dreamfields program, which provides families with safe havens and points of pride in their own neighborhoods. Dodgers Dreamfields are game-changers, revitalizing green spaces to help re-energize the community’s involvement in baseball and softball, while boosting the safety of local parks and providing a place where neighbors can gather, exercise and play. Since 2003, LADF has invested nearly $20 million to refurbish 60 Dodgers Dreamfields and provide more than 400,000 kids access to playable baseball and softball fields. These fields bring LADF closer to completing 75 fields by 2033 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles in 1958.
To learn more about LADF, please visit Dodgers.com/LADF. For those who want to contribute by making a designated donation for the project, please visit dodgers.com/10years.