City of Jackson partners with sister city in Colombia as part of baseball pipeline

For Immediate Release:

July 18, 2024

(Jackson, Miss.) - The City of Jackson is partnering with the cities of Rionegro and Medellin, Colombia in an effort to advance the sport of baseball between the two locations.

The Legacy Baseball League will provide collegiate players a place to play during the summer months of June and July, beginning May of next year. The League is a ten-team summer developmental league that will give players from Mississippi, as well as countries outside the United States, a place to hone their skills and create life-long relationships in a cultural exchange between countries.

"I'm happy to announce that this partnership is an exciting development. It will enrich all cities involved, as well as the greater Jackson Metro area and state of Mississippi," said Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. "We look forward to this new international relationship and welcome the best of Colombia to Mississippi to be a part of the Legacy Baseball League."

The sister city agreement shines light on the potential economic, social, cultural, and education opportunities that are possible with this relationship. The exchange of youth from both locations also provides a great opportunity to learn from one another and grow together. The state of Mississippi, for example, has over 30 colleges and universities with baseball programs, including six HBCUs. This equates to over 750 players from the state alone, not including international players.

"We look forward to the great cultural interchange and promoting tourism between our two regions over my four-year term and well beyond," said the Mayor of Rionegro, Jorge Humberto Urrea. "We are pleased and honored to extend our invitation for the Mayor to visit our cities and country as we continue to build this relationship."

"The Legacy League is about more than just baseball to me, it is about bringing people of different nationalities, races, genders, cultures and religions into a true spectrum of opportunities for each individual, once again proving America and the sport of baseball to be the true melting pot of the world where all are welcomed to create pathways make progress and leave a better society for our youth," said Legacy League Commissioner, Tim Bennett.

Dusty Baker, Andruw Jones, Brian Jordan, Tracy McGrady, Deuce McAllister and Ralph Garr are among the current owners of the Legacy League that is slated to open in late May of 2025. The League will play a 30-game schedule at Jackson's Smith-Wills Stadium, the former home of the New York Mets and Houston Astros Minor League teams.

For more information on the Legacy League, visit www.legacyleaguebaseball.com