Daytona Beach city team makes compelling pitch to develop a new museum at Jackie Robinson Ballpark

Mayor Derrick L. Henry, accompanied by City Manager Deric C. Feacher and Deputy City Manager Dru Driscoll, recently traveled to New York City on a mission to forge a partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation to develop a museum at the historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark, where the color barrier in Major League Baseball was famously broken in 1946. 

Their preliminary meeting was productive, and the next steps are to continue conversations, with the hope of ultimately reaching an agreement between the foundation’s board and the City Commission.

During their visit, the delegation was given a guided tour of the Jackie Robinson Museum, which opened in 2022. The tour underscored Robinson’s off-the-field contributions, which extended far beyond his Hall of Fame athletic achievements. The city aspires to continue Rachel Robinson’s mission of preserving and sharing her husband’s legacy through establishing a museum. The envisioned museum would serve as a conservatory of Robinson's invaluable legacy and an educational resource for residents.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once acknowledged Robinson’s influence by stating, 
 “The founder of the civil rights movement was Jackie Robinson.” 

In addition to meeting with the foundation, Mayor Henry and the team engaged with executives from Major League Baseball (MLB). Discussions centered around Daytona Beach’s commitment to renovating the historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The ballpark is set to undergo a nearly $30 million renovation to meet MLB facility standards and enhance various fan amenities. A groundbreaking ceremony is Thursday, Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m. on the field.

Mayor Henry seized the opportunity to propose that MLB consider hosting a regular season game at the downtown ballpark on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15, once renovations are complete. Drawing inspiration from the success of MLB’s annual Field of Dreams game, Mayor Henry suggested hosting a game at this historic site to draw national attention and further honor Robinson's legacy. Although still an ardent proposition, hosting such a game would further spotlight the ballpark where Robinson’s groundbreaking professional debut took place.

Annual road resurfacing program

In the last four years, more than 140 lane miles of residential streets have been resurfaced through the city’s popular repaving program. In this fiscal year, 28.8 lane miles have been completed. Parking lots in the Daytona Beach Golf Club and Daisy Stocking Park have also been resurfaced. Later this month, the parking lot in the Public Works facility on Bellevue Avenue will be repaved. 

In addition to improving streets and parking lots, the program upgraded 30 ADA sidewalk ramps this fiscal year, with more expected to be completed by September. The total number of ramps finished since the program's beginning is 167. 

Plans for fiscal year 2024-2025 include procuring a vendor to conduct an updated road condition survey and resurfacing about 32 lane miles of streets, depending on the program’s budget.