Curtis Granderson to give $5 million to build new baseball stadium at his alma mater

When New York Yankees star Curtis Granderson had his jersey retired in February at his college alma mater, the University of Illinois at Chicago, he promised to help fund a new baseball stadium there that would serve both the college and the community.

It's a plan that was approved by the university's trustees this week and now has actual figures attached to it. Granderson will pay $5 million of the $7 million it will cost to build the stadium, which will be named Curtis Granderson Stadium.

To put the donation in context: That's one-third of the $15 million he'll make this season, part of a $32 million contract he signed in 2008. Granderson, who is currently on the disabled list after breaking a knuckle in his pinkie, will be a free agent after this year.

Here are some additional details on the stadium, per the AP:

The open-air, brick-and-stone stadium will seat 1,200 and is expected to open in 2015. The stadium will be built on campus along Roosevelt Road.

This video conceptualizing the stadium was released in February:

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