Rickwood Field, a tourism gem in Birmingham, is set for a polish.

The Birmingham City Council last week approved $900,000 in upgrades to the venerable ballpark, the oldest in the nation. The allocation includes $46,250 for restroom plumbing, $1,500 for lighting, $11,550 for toilet compartments and $7,850 for doors and hardware.

The recently approved upgrades come on the heels of work that was done in advance of Major League Baseball coming to town for three days of events that included the first official MLB game being played at Rickwood, the St. Louis Cardinals’ 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

“What’s being done now is polishing this ballpark for use for many, many years,” said Gerald Watkins, CEO of the Friends of Rickwood. “Hosting high-profile events, it’s a must. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have those opportunities many years ago, but we also didn’t have many big events. It would put us in the right position for a long time to come.”

MLB’s visit in 2024 was the catalyst for the latest round of improvements, which are tied to making the ballpark more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Big League baseball’s visit has also brought a lot more people to town.

“Our ballpark has increased tourism by 400% since the MLB game,” Watkin said. “Likewise, we have increased our bookings for travel ball (and) big events like the World Police and Fire Games. The Birmingham Barons are coming back, (and) MLB is bringing the East-West Classic game here on Juneteenth.

“With all that being said, some of these things maybe wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the additional publicity we got back last year after the MLB game,” the Friends CEO said. “The MLB game has created a lot more opportunities.”

Those opportunities include the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s baseball championship tournament, which Watkins is proud to say Birmingham and Rickwood were able to pry away from Atlanta.

SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland said the league of historically Black colleges and universities has long wanted to have a permanent home for its baseball tournament. He said a strong relationship with Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has been a key to league title events coming to town.

“We were playing at Georgia Tech but we wanted to have a more permanent place,” the commissioner said. “We also wanted to make sure that we continue to have a foothold here in the Birmingham area. When MLB came in and renovated the field, it made it perfect for us to be able to bring a Division I championship back to Birmingham.”

This year’s SWAC baseball tournament is the first of five that will be played at Rickwood, which hosted the tournament once before. Then as now, the venue invokes thoughts of the greats of the game who played there.

“We understand the history, the tradition of Rickwood,” McClelland said. “We understand all that came before these gentlemen that are playing. (Players and coaches) understand the rich history and tradition that this park brings. To be very honest with you, at our reception (Tuesday) night, there was nothing but overwhelming joy from the coaches and the student-athletes knowing that they are playing behind some of the great legends of the game of baseball.”

Watkins said the pending improvements will allow even more people to conveniently take in Rickwood Field. And, he said, there’s more in store.

“We will continue to look for bigger events,” the Friends CEO said. “I have talked to Auburn (University). I have talked to the University of Missouri. I’ve talked to several … small colleges about coming here and playing tournaments.

“The future is very bright and there are a lot of things on the table,” Watkins added. “Again, the improvements that we’re going to make related to the ADA issues are going to make it even better for all who show up.”