(L-R): Cal Ripken, Jr., Jake Owen, Kevin Harvick and his son. Photo credit: Rob Smith Photography/Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation
The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and Kevin Harvick Foundation recently dedicated a youth baseball field in Vero Beach, Florida to Jake Owen. The new facility will provide youth from the singer’s hometown with a clean, safe place to learn, play and grow.
On hand for the ribbon cutting were Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., and NASCAR star Kevin Harvick.
“I have great memories of playing baseball as a kid with my twin brother, Jarrod,” said Owen. “Growing up in Vero Beach, I never imagined that one day there would be a baseball field here with my name on it. I’m thankful for music being the creative outlet that got me to where I am today and what brought us all together. I’m also very grateful to my good friends Cal Ripken, Jr., Kevin Harvick and Mark Butler [of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation] for dedicating this baseball field to me. I hope there will be many incredible memories made on this field and that the kids who play here will believe that anything is possible with the support of their community.”
The synthetic turf baseball field includes a digital scoreboard, dugouts, backstop and bleachers. The park will be gifted to and maintained by the Indian River Sports Complex, with whom the Ripken Foundation and Harvick Foundation will work closely with to create and implement character education programming and clinics.
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Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.View Author Profile
