Montgomery Biscuits, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to open permanent annex at Riverwalk Stadium in 2026

The Montgomery Biscuits announced a partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City to open a permanent annex inside Riverwalk Stadium’s historic train shed on the first‑base side during the 2026 season, team general manager Mike Murphy said at a Monday announcement.

The exhibit, organizers said, will use artifacts, artwork, film and digital features from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to tell the stories of the players, teams and other contributors to Negro Leagues history and to connect that history to the broader civil‑rights narrative in Montgomery.

“This ballpark obviously is one of the most charming, unique ballparks in all of minor league baseball,” Mike Murphy said. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to...have you all here in our ballpark for this exciting announcement.”

Lou DiBella, owner, managing partner and chief operating officer of the Montgomery Biscuits, said the annex will make Riverwalk Stadium a year‑round destination for education and tourism. “I want this place to be a center of education, a center of entertainment throughout the whole year,” DiBella said, describing plans for rotating exhibits, a screening room and four large digital screens that visitors can use to explore the Negro Leagues’ archive.

DiBella said the exhibit will be located in the stadium’s large corridor and would be developed in cooperation with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He said the museum will pay no cost to place the exhibit in Montgomery and that there will be no charge for schoolchildren; a suggested donation — “100% of which will be sent to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum,” he said — will be collected from other visitors.

Mayor Steven Reed and Experience Montgomery officials framed the annex as a civic and tourism asset that connects Montgomery’s civil‑rights sites and the Legacy Museum to sports history. “This is not only a gift to baseball fans, it’s a gift to our city, our community, our state, our young people, and our future,” Mayor Reed said, citing local legends such as Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Satchel Paige as examples of Alabama players the exhibit will honor.

Ron Simmons, chief destination officer for Experience Montgomery, said the exhibit will augment downtown tourism and provide an educational resource for visitors who come to Montgomery for civil‑rights history, sporting events and military or academic conferences. Simmons noted that Montgomery has recently risen in national tourism rankings and said the annex would be another draw for school groups and national conferences that visit the city.

Organizers said the exhibit will feature rotating artifacts and digital features that allow visitors to “build their own adventure,” using the Negro Leagues Museum’s archive for films and other material. The Biscuits and city officials also said they hope the annex will encourage visitors to take the civil‑rights tour of downtown Montgomery and to visit the museum in Kansas City.

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, did not attend in person and provided a video message that the Biscuits said would be shared with media after the announcement. Organizers cited a recent USA Today ranking that listed the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum among the top 10 places for sports fans to visit in the United States.

Officials said renderings and early plans were on display after the announcement; project details such as total construction cost, funding sources and a specific opening date beyond “during the 2026 season” were not specified at the event.

The announcement included a public unveiling of concept renderings in the stadium and an invitation for school groups and visitors to use the space for rotating programming once it opens.

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Provenance: First related remarks began with Mike Murphy’s opening at the public announcement; the event concluded with final remarks and the unveiling of renderings and a video from Bob Kendrick.