The investment
This government allocated a total of 2,924 million pesos (mdp) to the promotion of this sport, of which:
- 1,084 million pesos were for the construction of stadiums, schools and sports facilities for baseball.
- 946 million pesos to acquire two stadiums in Sonora
- 894 million pesos for the Program for the Development and Promotion of Baseball (ProBeis), which was created in 2019, but in 2022 was replaced by the Technological Baccalaureate for Sports Education and Promotion.
The Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU) delivered 34 contracts to various companies to build and renovate stadiums, Schools and sports for baseball in eight states: Campeche, Chiapas, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Veracruz and Tabasco. All of this was awarded between 2019 and 2023, according to a request for information to that agency.
Stadiums and schools
One of the main actions was the purchase and renovation of the “Tomás Oroz Gaytán” baseball stadium and the construction of the Baseball Academy in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora.
In the stadium, which was home of the Yaquis of Ciudad Obregón, a team of the Mexican Pacific League, they spent 522.3 million pesos, Of which 83% of the resources were only for the acquisition of this property in 2020.
The company “Edificación Integral del Noroeste SA de CV” was the company in charge of carrying out the renovation of the stadium and the construction of the academy in which investments were made 88.1 million pesos.
The school has a capacity for 200 students and there are 100 beds for young people who are in the boarding school. In addition, it has a library, a dining room, a gymnasium, batting cages, a sports field and a water treatment plant. The works began on March 31, 2021 and were completed in September of this year.
Another stadium that the federal government bought and renovated was the “Hector Espino”, located in Hermosillo, The same in Sonora, where a baseball academy was also built. The total cost was 630 million pesos, Of which 81% was to acquire the stadium, which was the former “Naranjeros de Hermosillo” venue from 1972 to 2012.
Sedatu, headed by Román Meyer Falcón, commissioned the company “Pixo Acabados y Concretos, SA de CV” to renovate the stadium and build the academy for this sport.
The building has classrooms, a library, a gym, equipped laboratories, batting cages, rooms for residents, living rooms, gardens, lobbies, outdoor spaces, among other areas. The works were divided into three contracts in 2021.
Also in the president’s “water”
In Tabasco, the homeland of President López Obrador, there was also renovation of two stadiums and construction of public spaces for baseball. 360.8 million pesos. One of the works was the Renovation of the “Manuel Vargas Izquierdo” stadium, located in the municipality of Jalpa de Méndez.
For the project, Sedatu awarded two contracts for a total of 63.5 million pesos to the company “Promotora y Desarrolladora Clave, SA de CV”. The works began in January and ended in August 2021.
Another was the renewal of the “18th of August” stadium for which 40.4 million pesos were spent, where works such as structural reinforcement, metalwork for commercial premises, reinforcement for stands and renovation of lighting towers were carried out. In that stadium, years ago, the “Tigres de Balancán” of the Tabasqueña semi-professional Baseball League played.
In addition to these expenses, there are other items that add up 481 million pesos which were allocated to baseball-related works and other constructions, such as parks and schools, but the cost of the works is not specified, because the contracts only mention the total amount for all the buildings.
The fleeting appearance of ProBeis
In 2019, the federal government created the “Program for the Promotion and Development of Baseball in Mexico” (ProBeis), an institution that aimed to promote this sport and develop new promises that could reach the Major Leagues in the United States.
From 2019 to 2021, ProBeis was assigned 894 million pesos: 350 million in 2019; 280 million in 2020 and 264 million for 2021. This was led by former Major League Baseball player, Edgar Gonzalez Sabin.
SEDATU awarded a contract for the construction of spaces for a “ProBeis academy,” which was worth 11.1 million pesos in 2019 in Sonora.
Surprisingly, in 2022 this Program was replaced – without making much noise – by the Technological Baccalaureate of Education and Sports Promotion (BTED), dependent on the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP).
This new institution has been allocated a budget of 907.9 million pesos until 2023. This organization not only focuses on baseball, but also on boxing and athletics.
Political Expansion He sought out Edgar Gonzalez to find out the reason for the disappearance of ProBeis, but received no response.
Randy Arozarena and the baseball passion
The actions of this administration and the resources invested in baseball coincide in an upsurge of the fans of the “King of Sports”, without this necessarily having had a decisive influence, but there is something that did help: the naturalization as a Mexican of a Cuban baseball player, Randy Arozarena.
“I only ask one favor, my people, send a message to the president so that he gives me nationality and does me that favor to represent Mexico in the World Classic, that’s the only thing I want,” he mentioned in a LIVE on his Instagram account in 2021.
Days later, President López Obrador said he would ask the then head of the National Migration Institute, Francisco Garduño, to look into the issue. On April 21, 2022, this became a reality and the “Tampa Bay Rays” outfielder became a naturalized Mexican citizen.
A year later, Arozarena was instrumental in Mexico reaching the historic semifinals when they faced Japan in the World Baseball Classic, a team that they would ultimately lose to, but leaving Mexico with a historic match.
(Photo: MEGAN BRIGGS/Getty Images via AFP)
According to data from the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), between 2019 and 2022, sponsorship revenue increased by 700% and audiences by 800%.. Stadium attendance is also on the rise, with only 2022 received 4.3 million attendees, an increase of 50% compared to 2019.
While the team’s success in the World Baseball Classic has been a huge boost, the league has taken several actions that have helped, such as bringing the sport to television through various platforms and increasing its sponsorship.
