FAIRFIELD, Ala. (WIAT) -- The Willie Mays Park in Fairfield will be getting some well-deserved TLC. Major League Baseball announced all of the money raised during the 2024 Winter Meetings Charity Auction will go towards restoring the baseball field at the park.
The baseball field at Willie Mays Park is old and rundown, not something the city wants people to see as the legacy of Mays' name in its current state. But with some renovations, the City of Fairfield hopes to bring the vibrancy back to the park.
"Having a park and the only park named after Willie Mays, particularly in his hometown, it’s monumental," said Fairfield City Councilor Cedric Norman. "Even more now that he’s no longer with us.”
Norman said baseball is a unifying sport in the community, especially as kids grow up.
"We may have went to different elementary school," Norman said. "But on the baseball field, we were all Fairfield."
Norman said it’s easy for Fairfield to get lumped in with Birmingham as just a part of the metropolitan area, but he said revitalizing the park and putting some pride into it helps gives Fairfield its own identity.
"The city’s been on some hard times, and we’re working through that right now," Norman said. "But projects like this show Fairfield is a worthwhile investment for not just Major League Baseball, but for businesses and any other community organizations that want to come in and assist. We’re hoping this will be a catalyst for other great things in that particular neighborhood, community and the city of Fairfield as a whole.”
The city said the first conversations happened in the summer around the MLB at Rickwood Field game, with plans finalizing and moving forward in October.
"This opportunity now extends our time in the neighboring community of Fairfield to be able to bring a world class field for the youth and residents that live there,” said April Brown, MLB senior vice president of social responsibility and diversity. “Birmingham was where [Mays] started his professional career. He was born and raised in Fairfield, and there’s a park that bears his name and honors his legacy, and it’s in need of repair and refurbishment, so that youth can step onto it and enjoy the game and sport that we all love.”
"Here we come Fairfield, here we come Birmingham. We’re going to be doing big things, lots of things coming down the road," said Willie Mays' son Michael Mays. "This is the beginning.”
The city hopes to cut the ribbon on the new and improved baseball field at Willie Mays Park by December 2025. Michael Mays said while doing this is long overdue, it somehow feels right on time.
"The energy of the mission of the project, it’s all come full circle now," Michael Mays said. "Like I said, it started in Fairfield and in Birmingham, and now it’s starting again in Fairfield and Birmingham. It just seems right -- organic.”
The charity auction is open through Thursday night. You can find the auction by clicking here. You can also donate to the project directly by calling Fairfield City Hall at 205-788-2492.