RECOGNITION

The mural celebrates the rich history of athletics in Frederick County over the past 125 years and includes olympians, professional players, collegiate athletes and a few outstanding coaches and one horse, a Preakness winner. The 250 athlete honorees represent more than 30 sports. Our earliest athlete played professional baseball in the National League in 1895. The most recent, and youngest, honoree is a female basketball player who won a Gold Medal at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and qualified for the U17 World Championships, which were not contested to the pandemic.

TOURISM & ECONOMIC BENEFITS

We believe the mural at Harry Grove Stadium will be a tourist destination and an economic driver. According to the CoStar report, due to it’s physical location and proximity to MD Route 355 and Interstate 70, there will be 44 million views per year of the mural from these roads. Between the views and a vibrant campaign to engage the athletes, their team members, school alumni, and the community, we believe the project will appeal to a broad audience. 

DIVERSITY ACKNOWLEDGED

We have athletes from every decade from the 1890s to the present. While men’s sports dominated the decades between 1890-1960, female athletes account for 1/3 of all honorees, and more than 50% since 1990. While Frederick County has been predominantly Caucasian (above 80% in the 2010 Census), athletes of color account for 25% of the total honorees. We can boast a diversity of sport, race, gender and mobility that represents Frederick County’s complex and successful sports landscape.