![Rays presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld (in yellow) and OF Mallex Smith (in white jersey) at the ribbon-cutting. [MARC TOPKIN / Tampa Bay Times]](https://www.tampabay.com/storyimage/HI/20171110/ARTICLE/311109517/AR/0/AR-311109517.jpg?MaxW=2000&cachebuster=28335 "Rays presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld (in yellow) and OF Mallex Smith (in white jersey) at the ribbon-cutting. [MARC TOPKIN / Tampa Bay Times]")
![Rocco Baldelli is moving from first-base coach to field coordinator. [WILL VRAGOVIC / Tampa Bay Times]](https://www.tampabay.com/storyimage/HI/20181020/ARTICLE/310209816/AR/0/AR-310209816.jpg&MaxW=600&imageVersion=Rotator)
Dozens of Rays staffers including team presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman and outfielder Mallex Smith spent much of Friday helping build a playground at Tampa's University Area Harvest Hope Park.
The KaBOOM! one-day project was done in collaboration with volunteers from Bank Of America and the University Area Community Development Corporation.
"One of the wonderful things about this particular project is how personal it is for a lot of us. We've had a great relationship with Bank of America for a long time, with the University Area CDC for a long time, with KaBOOM! for a long time," Auld said. "So to come together with all the members of this community and build something that is going to last a really long time and demonstrate to all the kids in this community that people care about them and that we want them to have a safe place to play is really special."
This is the seventh playground the Rays have built in the Tampa Bay area with KaBOOM!, a national non-profit group Auld first got involved with in 2001 when teaching in California.
