Derek Jeter gifts $5M for alma mater baseball/softball field upgrades
Hall of Fame New York Yankee second baseman Derek Jeter returned to his Michigan roots to give his alma mater $5 million worth of renovations to its baseball and softball fields.Jeter worked with Kalamazoo Public Schools, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Elite Companies, and his own foundation, Turn 2, to renovate the school’s existing baseball and softball fields.
A recent story from WWMT.com detailed the renovations to Kalamazoo Central High School. Below is an excerpt from the WWMT.com story.
Worth $5 million, the project completely transformed the fields, outfitting both with the following:
- New seating
- New dugouts
- Synthetic turf
- New sub-bases and drainage systems
- Clay infield (softball field only)
- Elevated aluminum grandstand bleachers
- Precast concrete dugouts
- Galvanized fencing
- Backstop and foul poles
- New press boxes
- Natural grass practice field
- Accessible bathrooms and accessible parking
Both fields were also reoriented, allowing batters to face the pitching mound to the northeast in order to lower the impact of low afternoon and evening sun angles on the players’ vision, officials said.
Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education approved a donation agreement between the foundation and the district at its meeting June 8.
“Many professional athletes have given back and this is really a generous thing for the Turn 2 Foundation which was founded by Derek Jeter and his family,” Trustee Patti Sholler-Barber said. “These types of things are stellar for our students and our community.