As Ripken Baseball prepares for its most visitors ever, Ripken Baseball and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s (MDOT MVA) Highway Safety Office are partnering to make Maryland’s highways among the safest in the nation by promoting road safety at Ripken’s tournaments.
“With our recent expansion to nine fields at the complex, we project a significant growth with our team participation and spectators,” said Lauren Morris, general manager of The Ripken Experience Aberdeen. “We’re all in this together, and we want everyone to do their part to arrive and depart safely to enjoy their experience with us this season.”
The partnership will have MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office sharing educational messaging at the start of the travel baseball tournament season at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen to remind drivers about road safety while also displaying “hands-on” activities at the facility for all families.
Each year, the attendance at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen grows, according to Jon Rowland from Ripken Baseball. Ripken Baseball expects to host over 1,500 teams and 25,000 participants, bringing 100,000 visitors to Aberdeen in 2022, according to a news release. Ripken Baseball recently added two new fields, and they are expecting to host a record number of visitors this year, Rowland said.
“We are excited to partner with Ripken Baseball to remind families traveling in Maryland for the upcoming tournaments about the importance of highway safety,” MDOT MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who also serves as Gov. Larry Hogan’s highway safety representative, said. “Just like in baseball, the goal is to reach home base, and we want to ensure families are making it home after the tournaments, too.”
The MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office’s goal is to save lives and prevent injuries by reducing motor vehicle crashes through the administration of a comprehensive network of traffic safety programs. More than 550 people die on Maryland roadways due to preventable causes each year while more than 88 percent of fatalities are caused by impairment, excessive speed, distracted driving and failure to wear a seat belt. Learn more at: ZeroDeathsMD.gov/ChildPassengerSafety.
The Ripken Experience Aberdeen is an complex featuring replicas of some of the most notable MLB ballparks of the modern era. Ripken Baseball hosts tournaments, camps, clinics and spring training at their facilities.