Austrian Baseball Federation constructs Youth Baseball Field

Vienna, Attnang-Puchheim, Austria (August 29, 2012) – The Austrian Baseball Federation (ABF) announces the completion of a new youth baseball field at Athletics Ballpark, home of the Attnang-Puchheim Athletic Club. The project was funded in part by a grant in the amount of $104,456 USD from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), a joint initiative of the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball.

To celebrate the completion of the project, the Austrian Baseball Federation will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Athletics Ballpark in Attnang-Puchheim on September 1, 2012 at 4 p.m. during the Austrian Championship of the 15-under division. Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, will participate in the festivities, along with Rainer Husty, President of the Austrian Baseball Federation; Rainer L. Krankl, Vice President Finances of the Austrian Baseball Federation; Christoph Wieser, Vice President Baseball of the Austrian Baseball Federation; Peter Ferak, Vice President Youth of the Austrian Baseball Federation. Mayor Peter Groiss of Attnang-Puchheim will also take part in the event.

The Athletics Ballpark facility, which includes one regulation baseball field, one youth baseball field, a clubhouse and batting cages, is the coaching center for Austria and site of national competitions and tournaments. The new youth field will support over 300 players from local youth programs and provide a host site for international youth tournaments.

“The completion of this project marks the realization of a dream for this organization and the community as a whole. Without the support of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, construction of this youth field would not have been possible,” says Rainer L. Krankl, Vice President Finances of the Austrian Baseball Federation.

“We have to thank Project Manager Franz Kroiss and all of the volunteers for their work on the field. The hard work by the volunteers guaranteed a finish time of the project in less than six months,” noted Sebastian Libiseller, head of the local organization in Attnang-Puchheim.

“The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is pleased to support the Austrian Baseball Federation’s dedication to this project and to the game of baseball,” added Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. “We applaud the efforts of the organization to introduce the game to new players and to provide quality coaching and facilities in Austria.”

The Austrian Baseball Federation joins the following European organizations to receive a BTF grant: Krc Altron Baseball Softball Club (2002), Baseballovy a Softballovy Klub Hluboka nad Vltavou (2004), the French Baseball Softball Federation (2008), BaseballSoftballUK Ltd. (2012).

About the Austrian Baseball Federation
The Austrian Baseball Federation (ABF) was founded in 1983 and serves as the governing body of Baseball and Softball in Austria. As a non-profit organization the ABF´s goal is to grow Baseball and Softball in Austria and spread the sport especially among young people. Under the organization of the ABF numerous youth leagues for kids in all age groups are played throughout the country as well as the annual national championships where Austria’s best youth Baseball team is crowned in categories 10U, 13U, 15U and 18U. The ABF also initiated three academies that are based in the eastern, central and western parts of Austria. Those academies serve to develop the top level talents of the country. The central academy is based in the town of Attnang-Puchheim, where the existing ballpark will be upgraded with a new youth field due to the support of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. For more information, visit baseballaustria.com and follow ABF on Facebook.

About the Baseball Tomorrow Fund
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) is a joint initiative between the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball designed to promote the growth of youth baseball and softball throughout the world by awarding grants to support field renovation and construction projects, equipment and uniform purchases, coaches training material and other selected program expenses. Since its formation by MLB and the MLBPA in 1999, BTF has awarded over 620 grants totaling more than $22 million to non-profit and tax-exempt organizations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia. Approximately 300,000 youth players have benefited from programs and facilities supported by the fund. BTF also facilitates league-wide initiatives including the collection and distribution of new and gently used equipment to organizations in need as well as field maintenance education clinics. For more information, visit baseballtomorrowfund.com and follow BTF on Facebook, Twitter and MLBlogs.