The College Baseball Foundation and Kansas City-based sports architectural firm Populous recently revealed some concept renderings for the future College Baseball Hall of Fame museum planned in Overland Park.
The new museum — anticipated to open late next year — will move into an empty exhibit space at the Museum at Prairiefire on 135th Street previously dedicated to traveling exhibits.
The College Baseball Foundation’s plans to locate its exhibit, archive and headquarters in Overland Park were announced earlier this year, with officials giving Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes some credit for helping to seal the deal in a national search for the foundation’s first permanent home.
What’s planned for the museum?
Billed in January as a “dynamic and ever-evolving space for college baseball enthusiasts to celebrate the sport’s rich past, present and future,” the College Baseball Hall of Fame promises to become a key attraction for the Prairiefire development.
It is expected to showcase some of the greatest contributions and contributors to college baseball — including information about the hall’s more than 160 inductees — alongside a rotating collection of memorabilia the College Baseball Foundation has amassed.
The existing Museum at Prairiefire’s permanent collection will remain broadly unchanged.
For instance, the full-scale replica cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the lobby will stay, as will the classrooms, a preschool, the restored wetlands and all the other features of the existing museum.
College Baseball Hall of Fame “a big deal” for state
Leadership from Visit OP, the tourism bureau for the city, called it a “historic milestone” for the city and predicted a multimillion-dollar impact. An estimated 150,000 visitors are expected in the first year.
“Let me tell you, this is a big deal for Kansas,” Lt. Gov. David Toland said in January at an announcement event.
The project received a $500,000 state grant to build a new entrance for the College Baseball Hall of Fame at the Museum at Prairiefire.
Populous has designed thousands of sports projects
Founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1980s, Populous has grown into one of the world’s leading sports design firms.
It’s credited with designing thousands of professional and college sports venues around the world, including the new Yankee Stadium in New York City and the main events stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
In a news release, the College Baseball Foundation said its request for proposals for the new Hall of Fame museum at Prairiefire “attracted interest from multiple world-class design firms.”
“Not only is Populous based in Kansas City, but they are widely regarded as the number one design firm in the world dedicated to sports and entertainment venues,” said Tom Jacobs, CEO and executive director of the College Baseball Foundation.
Take a look at what the College Baseball Foundation has planned:
Keep reading: College Baseball Hall of Fame tapped Overland Park after year-long lobbying effort
