Negro Leagues Baseball Museum looks to raise $25 million for new facility

Bronze statues of Negro League greats including pitcher Satchel Paige, front, play their positions on the Field of Legends at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is embarking on a fundraising campaign to raise $25 million for a new building to house its education center and what has become one of the world’s unique collections of baseball memorabilia.

Museum president Bob Kendrick said the “Pitch for the Future” campaign is designed to lead to a new 30,000-square foot facility that would be adjacent to the Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center, which is named for the Negro Leagues great who helped to lead the fundraising effort to build the initial museum.