JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The James P. Small Park and Henry Aaron Field in Jacksonville’s Durkeeville neighborhood, more than a century old, now looks brand new after getting upgrades from the city.
Mayor Donna Deegan, former Mayor Lenny Curry, city council members, and other local leaders just cut the ribbon on the newly improved stadium. The renovations include new, artificial turf, new lighting, fencing, dugouts, concessions and restrooms.
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The stadium, right now, is used as the home field for Edward Waters University and as a practice field for the Stanton Preparatory School. It used to be the home of the Jacksonville Red Caps in the late 1930′s, which was the city’s Negro National League team.
“Some of baseball’s greatest players passed through this park,” said Mayor Deegan, “the new improvements show that sports are often at the forefront of cultural movements that make positive change possible.”
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The city wants to, eventually, add signage around the stadium similar to those that stood around it in 1912, when it was first built. City leaders are hoping the upgrades to the stadium won’t just help honor its history, but put more money into historically Black neighborhoods.
“Renovations can’t just be done in the nicest parts, the whitest parts of our city, it has to be done in Durkeeville,” said councilmember Jimmy Peluso, whose district covers Durkeeville.
As part of the improvements, the city is making a deal with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to have the team play one game per year at James P. Small Park and Henry Aaron Field. Councilmember Ron Salem is hoping to see an MLB game played at the stadium.
“If you can play a baseball game in the middle of Iowa, you can do it in the middle of Durkeeville,” Salem said.
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Apart from what’s been newly added to the stadium, there are also plans to add a playground and museum right across the road. The museum is being headed, in part, by the Durkeeville Historical Society and will showcase the history of both the neighborhood and the stadium. It will be two stories, the second of which will have seats to watch games from the museum’s windows.
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