National baseball academy re-ups in Bradenton

BRADENTON — The Baseball Factory, an amateur baseball training facility that draws players worldwide, has extended its contract to host its Southern U.S. events at Pirate City in Bradenton.

The Baseball Factory, according to a release, signed a three-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hold spring training at Pirate City, just outside downtown Bradenton. The new contract calls for Baseball Factory to hold 27 events at Pirate City from 2015-2017. Those events, the release states, will host more than 2,800 baseball players in Bradenton. Baseball Factory has held events at the Pirates' spring training and minor league facility since 2008.

“We are extremely excited to continue calling Pirate City the Southern Home of Baseball Factory,” CEO and founder Steve Sclafani says in the release. “The Pirates have always impressed us with the high quality of their facilities and the impending addition of an athletic performance center shows their dedication to continuing to improve the Pirate City venue.”

Founded in 1994, Baseball Factory has helped place more than 50,000 baseball players in college programs and participants have received more than $1 billion in scholarships, the release states.

“Our partnership with Baseball Factory has made Pirate City a hub of top amateur baseball talent from all over the country,” Pirates Senior Director of Florida Operations Trevor Gooby says in the statement. “We strive to make Bradenton a national sports destination, and hosting Baseball Factory showcases has been a big part