The New York Yankees announced that the Summer Night Lights Program, following a successful inaugural season in 2023, will again take place this summer in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s PLAY BALL initiative.

The Yankees will be teaming up with the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Blue Chips Program, NYC Parks, the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD), The Players Alliance, SCAN-Harbor and Poland Spring® Spring Water to implement this initiative designed to keep area young people engaged in recreation and character-promoting activities on summer evenings.

On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from July 9 through the end of August, approximately 300 children and teenagers from the Bronx between the ages of 12 and 18 will have the opportunity to take part in tournament-style, co-ed baseball and softball games at Elston Gene Howard Field, which is located on the site of the original Yankee Stadium. The nighttime schedule was chosen to supplement the limited number of organized evening activities available to that age group during the summer.

Summer Night Lights is a collective effort to encourage engagement in baseball-related activities, which can serve as an outlet for recreation, social responsibility and healthy competition. Additionally, by gathering youngsters from all areas of the Bronx, artificial and territorial boundaries can be shattered in a way that can bring communities together.

The day-to-day aspects of the program are organized by the NYPD Blue Chips Program and the NYC DYCD.

Prior to the Sunday, June 23 game vs. the Braves at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees held a pregame ceremony to commemorate Season 2 of the initiative. A photo from the ceremony can be found here.