BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced the 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament is coming to Birmingham in May.
The tournament will be hosted at Rickwood Field from May 21-25. Birmingham's historic field hosted a 2024 MLB regular season game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants as part of a salute to the Negro Leagues. The ballpark has undergone $5 million in renovations, which included a new playing surface and a padded wall.
Rickwood Field is the oldest existing professional ballpark in the U.S. and served as home for the Birmingham Barons and Birmingham Black Barons.
“We’re extremely excited to bring the SWAC Baseball Tournament back to the City of Birmingham,” said SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland in a statement. “Many of the all-time legends of the game of baseball played at historic Rickwood Field including Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Jackie Robinson and countless others.”