Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields was developed by a new civic and philanthropic partnership of three non-profit groups -- The Red Sox Foundation, Hill House, and The Esplanade Association -- in cooperation with The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Inspired by a founding gift from Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner, the fields are named after an avid young Red Sox fan, Teddy Ebersol, who died in a plane crash in 2004 shortly after his beloved Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. These newly reconstructed baseball and soccer fields stand in honor of Teddy's memory, as well as all Red Sox fans who were taken from us too soon.
Our goal was to restore the well-used, well-worn and much-loved youth athletic fields on Boston's famed Esplanade. The project has transformed four damaged, uneven and often flooded ball fields, to include three baseball/softball diamonds, a t-ball diamond and up to five youth soccer fields and a regulation-sized soccer field. With the support of many donors providing $2 million in private donations, we not only totally rebuilt the fields, but added-much needed new drainage and irrigation systems as well as dugouts for softball and baseball. In addition, professional lighting, donated by Muscow Lighting, was installed which means that now adult and youth groups no longer have to compete for limited daylight hours of play.
Youth soccer began on September 5, 2006 -- and baseball and softball games began in June of 2007. Now, once again, the pathway along the Charles River allows pedestrians and cyclists to access the full length of the Esplanade has already reopened.
As in all state parks, permitting for use of the field is controlled by the state Dept of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Anyone seeking playing space for youth soccer, softball and baseball or adult softball and soccer in the evenings or weekends at this marvelous new recreation area should please contact the DCR via its website, www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/fields.htm or by calling 617-626-1250.
We are deeply honored by Dick and Susan Ebersol's generous $500,000 challenge grant, in which the family pledged to match new donations to an endowment fund to help underwrite the cost of future maintenance of the fields. We are thrilled to confirm that through the generosity of supporters of these fields, the Red Sox Foundation, Hill House and Esplanade Association have jointly met this challenge and a $1 million endowment find has been created, which will help assure the fields are playable for generations to come.
We are very grateful to the many donors, large and small, who made this "field of dreams" a reality. We also welcome additional tax deductible donations towards the field maintenance endowment. For supporters of the Red Sox Foundation who might be interested in helping us sustain this extraordinary public recreation area, we welcome you to become members of the Friends of Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields.Please note that for donors or those you wish to honor someone or whose memory you wish to acknowledge, on site recognition at the fields is available at follows:
All donations are tax deductible. Please note the Red Sox Foundation's nonprofit Tax ID #33-1007984.
We hope you will have an opportunity to stop by this gorgeous new recreation area soon. We are confident you will agree that Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields are an amazing addition to the state's public park system -- and an exceptional gift to children and families throughout the Commonwealth.
Thank you again for your generous support of the Red Sox Foundation's charitable outreach, and we thank you sharing this great gift with everyone in our community.
