Youth baseball in Kansas City is taking a giant step forward with the groundbreaking of the new MLB Urban Youth Academy.
The academy will be located at Parade Park behind the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the 18th and Vine district. Mayor Sly James, Royals General Manager Dayton Moore, city officials and Royals players were all at the ceremony.
This first phase costs $7,052,000. Funding for the project comes from the state, city bonds, MLB and the MLB Players Association. Construction for the first phase is set to begin soon and is expected to be wrapped up around November.
WATCH: Justin Wilfon spoke with Royals pitcher Chris Young at the ceremony, which you can watch below.
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Alyson Bruner can be reached at alyson.bruner@kshb.com.
