The Stadium will be named after Bahamian Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers, the first Bahamian to play United States Major League Baseball (MLB).

Rodgers made his debut with the San Francisco Giants in 1957, and finished his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates 10 years later. 

He died at the age 70 in December, 2004.

The Stadium is being built near the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, with an ultimate capacity of around 8,000.

It is hoped the new Stadium will open up the possibility of the Bahamas hosting National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) baseball games and perhaps even MLB exhibition matches.

The Stadium has been designed by architect Michael Foster.

Prime Minister Perry Christie said the stadium is something the baseball community has warranted due to its self-sufficient success in recent years ©BIS



Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie, a former international triple jumper who won a bronze medal at the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games, said the Stadium is something the baseball community has warranted due to its self-sufficient success in recent years.

"This a result of the extraordinary progress of baseball in the country, without Government support, sponsored by people who had an interest, who stimulated young people through Freedom Farm and places like that to get involved in baseball," he said.

"We are now talking a benefit to the economy of the Bahamas.

"One only needs to look at Jamaica to see that they export football players around the world, they export track and field stars, they put money into the preparation of their athletes.

"They have centres of excellence so they can have access to all that is required for preparation.

"That is what this Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre should be all about.

"I have a commitment to sports because I was there for a short time in my own life representing the Bahamas internationally, and like so many young Bahamians, never had the opportunity to compete in a Stadium in the Bahamas.

"I competed in stadiums elsewhere in the region and the United Kingdom but never in the Bahamas.

"Our baseball players will now have that opportunity."

The new Stadium is expected to be completed next year. 

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