NORTH ATTLEBORO – The miniature replica of Fenway Park will not be built on North Attleboro land as town officials had hoped. The project decided in favor of a private land gift, in an undisclosed location, instead of the 15 acres offered in the Bragg-MacDonald Town Forest.
“This gift of private land provides the most viable path forward to complete the entire Mini Fenway Park project as quickly as possible,” explained Ron Iacobucci, CEO of Kids Replica Ballpark, to The Sun Chronicle on Tuesday.
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The new home for the Mini Fenway is expected to be announced in September after the final details are confirmed.
Earlier this year, Kids Replica Ballpark, a nonprofit organization, reached a management agreement with North Attleboro over the use of the town land. Kids Replica agreed to pay the entire cost of the project, $2.7 million, as well as maintenance expenses, while North Attleboro would have public use of the field for youth leagues and camps.
Ron Iacobucci informed the town this summer that the project was considering two other private locations in southeastern Bay State communities. The nonprofit organization had until Sept. 1 to present plans to the town’s planning board.
The original idea for a Fenway replica was conceived by then-Red Sox player Tim Naehring and was slated for Quincy, Mass. Twelve years later, the replica shifted focus from a Fenway replica to a “mini Fenway” for youth baseball. Soon after Iacobucci joined the project in 2001, Kids Replica reached a licensing agreement with Major League Baseball and the Red Sox to use the Fenway name and image.
Kids Replica hopes to complete the first phase of the project by 2012 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park in Boston.
