August 8, 2005

WORK BEGINS ON USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TRAINING FACILITY

CARY, NC – At a ceremony this morning, the Town of Cary and officials from USA Baseball broke ground on USA Baseball's new $10.8 million national training center that will feature three training fields, one signature field, retail space, a ticket booth, concessions, and restrooms. The complex, which should be completed by the summer of 2007, is being built on 127 acres at Cary's Thomas Brooks Park, located just a few miles west of HWY 55 off Green Level Church Road. USA Baseball, which selects and trains the Olympic Baseball Team and other USA amateur teams, has chosen Cary for its national training center.

"We are pleased and proud to be able to begin construction on this exciting project," said Cary Mayor Pro-Tem Jack Smith. "Our partnership with USA Baseball and support from Wake County will allow us to create recreation opportunities over and above what could typically be offered." One million dollars of the $10.8 million project is coming from the Wake County Occupancy and Prepared Food/Beverage Tax fund.

Attending today's onsite ceremony were USA Baseball General Manager of Professional Operations Bob Watson, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler, USA Baseball President Mike Gaski, the Cary Town Council and approximately 150 distinguished guests and dignitaries.

"This project has always been at the center of the decision to move our headquarters to the Triangle," said Seiler. "To see what the Town of Cary has committed to, and to have it all come together in such a wonderful manner, we couldn't be happier. We are very much looking forward to sharing this facility with the residents of Cary, and having our elite level athletes train here."

The training center project team is being led by Heery International, a design, engineering and construction management firm with 30 offices worldwide. Heery has provided integrated services for such projects as the Georgia Dome, the 1996 Olympic Stadium (later converted to Turner Field) and several award winning minor league baseball parks and college stadiums. Beginning with the 1963 design of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Heery has completed more than 150 sports projects, providing enough seats to accommodate over a million fans.

In June, the Cary Town Council awarded the construction contract to T.A. Loving.

"We think this is going to be one of the finest baseball training facilities in the country," said Gaski. "When it's all said and done, it will be something for the entire region to be very proud of."

USA Baseball's national training center will join a number of other offerings at Cary's Thomas Brooks Park, which was opened nearly four years ago. The park currently includes a four-field softball complex with tower, two soccer fields, a playground, picnic facility, shelter with restrooms, and outdoor lighted basketball courts.

The training center is also one in a series of notable investments the Town of Cary has made in its parks, recreation, and cultural resources program over the last several years. Other first class facilities include the state-of-the-art Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park, Sk8 Cary—the county's first public skate park, and the 30-court Cary Tennis Center. Last fall the Town also agreed to Wake County's request to start managing and maintaining the SAS Soccer Park, which is located on Cary's eastern town limits.

These facilities, as well as 21 parks and over 31 miles of trails and greenways, are overseen by the Town's nationally accredited and award-winning Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources.

For more information on this or any other Town of Cary project, please visit us online at www.townofcary.org.

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PRIMARY CONTACTS:

Dave Fanucchi, USA Baseball, (919) 474-8721

Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951

** www.usabaseball.com **

Dave Fanucchi • Director, Communications • USA Baseball • 403 Blackwell Street • Durham, NC 27701 • 919.474.8721 x 210 • davefanucchi@usabaseball.com