# Spring Training Ballparks



## Anubis2051 (Jan 28, 2010)

ink_junkie said:


> The teams do use the same ballparks year after year.


Well, sometimes. On occasion theres some shuffling with who plays where. There was a rumor this year that the Rays might try to get the Yankees to move to Orlando because they were cutting into their fan base too much.


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## Dexter Morgan (Dec 23, 2009)

Anubis2051 said:


> Well, sometimes. On occasion theres some shuffling with who plays where. There was a rumor this year that the Rays might try to get the Yankees to move to Orlando because they were cutting into their fan base too much.


Who was there first? :lol:


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## Anubis2051 (Jan 28, 2010)

Dexter Morgan said:


> Who was there first? :lol:


Yanks.

Heres a map showing all the teams ballpark locations:


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## Commandant (Aug 25, 2009)

An unknown gem from the past (images and information courtesy of www.grandesports.com):




































































> Francisco Grande dates back to 1959 when then-owner of the San Francisco Giants, Horace Stoneham, developed the property as the spring training site for his hugely-popular major league baseball team. Paul Fannin, Arizona's governor at the time, joined National League president Warren Giles and an enthusiastic overflow crowd at the dedication of the facility just prior to the first exhibition game in 1961. Optimism swirled like desert dust devils when Willie Mays hit a 375-foot home run off Gaylord Perry in the forth inning of the first-ever game at Francisco Grande. While Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal were busy honing their Hall of Fame skills, the Resort became an exclusive and intimate desert hideaway for many of Hollywood's elite from its golden age - including legendary actor John Wayne - who frequently made Francisco Grande their home away from home. There are several unique architectural facts concerning Francisco Grande. Its famous swimming pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, and the hot tub shaped like a baseball. The parking area in front of the hotel - where Willie Mays parked his pink Cadillac with its "Say Hey" plates - was originally designed in the shape of a baseball diamond; and the flower beds were constructed to resemble bats and balls. The overhang on the north side of the tower was built to resemble the brim of a baseball cap; and the stairwells on the south side built to resemble those in a stadium. From the Sunset Terrace you will notice the coach's observation tower, a round two-story structure which was used by coaches and members of the press to view the action of the players during practice. With your imagination you can see the four baseball diamonds with some of the sport's best know players (then and now) as they practices in their "field of dreams." After the Giants were lured to Scottsdale, the California Angels used the facility from 1982 until 1984. The next two years saw the transformation of the baseball fields into football fields, which were then used as the training camp headquarters for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers and the Denver Gold. From 1984 to 2002, Francisco Grande operated as a destination golf resort. Visitor's golf skills were put to the test on one of Arizona's longest PGA Championship courses. The course plays 5,224 yards from the front tees and a staggering 7,545 yards from the championship tees.


The facility now:


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## mrakbaseball (May 6, 2009)

*Chicago Cubs on Catalina Island*

http://andersons2.indiebound.com









http://www.kcet.org


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## RMB2007 (Apr 1, 2007)

*JetBlue Park*


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

El Mariachi said:


> I am a bigger fan of the Cactus League stadiums and the centralized Phoenix location.


Agree. I have been saying for years that I have to go to spring training. Given the close location of all the parks there it would be so easy to get a slew of games in.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

Damn. That new Jet Blue park for the Red Sox looks pretty awesome. 

The Cubs have a new stadium slated for 2014 opening up in Mesa (the town of their current spring training park).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mesa_Ballpark

New Mesa Ballpark 

New Mesa Ballpark is a description of a new stadium in Mesa, Arizona that is currently in the planning stages. Once completed in 2014 [1], it will be primarily used for baseball and will be the home of the Chicago Cubs spring training facility as well as the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team [2]. *The capacity of the facility will be 15,000 spectators*. It will replace HoHoKam Stadium as the spring training facility of the Cubs and Packard Stadium as the home of the Sun Devils.

via
http://www.mesaaz.gov/bettermesa/cubs.aspx


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## eMKay (Feb 2, 2007)

RMB2007 said:


> *JetBlue Park*
> 
> 
> 
> WOW! That's AAA quality right there, unique design too.


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## Archbishop (Aug 18, 2009)

I like how some of the spring training parks resemble the normal stadium, like the Green Monster at the new Red Sox one or the Yankees having frieze.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

I understand why they've been doing it, but the Red Sox having a monster-like wall at their Spring Training park and now many of their minor league ones seems hokey.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

Scba said:


> I understand why they've been doing it, but the Red Sox having a monster-like wall at their Spring Training park and now many of their minor league ones seems hokey.


I think its more then that. Young outfielders in the Red Sox system need to become accustomed with the peculiarities of the monster. The effect that the monster has on shallow fly balls does play a part in the outfield defense. Outfielders learn from muscle memory just how much room and how many steps they have at their home ballpark.

Same with the deep "wells" in the outfield at Wrigley or short porch at Yankee stadium. Learning to play the appropriate defense or how to best pull a pitch at Yankee Stadium where you don't want to overpull due to length to the foul poles due to the wells at Wrigley are important to get accustomed to.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

That's what I meant when I said "I understand why"


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## ChesterCopperpot (May 24, 2012)

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localg...at-proposed-toronto-blue-jays-stadium/2295363

The proposed renovations in Dunedin that if approved will mean the Blue Jays will stay there for another 25 years. This is just for the stadium they play the games in.

The other half of the project is the new clubhouse facility 4 miles away where the majority of spring training occurs.


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## Chevy114 (Jul 21, 2011)

I would scoff, but after being at almost every Florida spring training park I would say the Renovations the O's did in Sarasota made them the 2nd best stadium behind the phillies in Clearwater (Sorry Red Sox and Yankee fans). So maybe the BJ's one will look good.


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## RMB2007 (Apr 1, 2007)

> North Port approves final Atlanta Braves spring training agreement
> 
> The Atlanta Braves are officially relocating their spring training to a new stadium complex North Port.
> 
> ...


www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170919...inal-atlanta-braves-spring-training-agreement


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## RMB2007 (Apr 1, 2007)

^^


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## SRQgator (Feb 2, 2015)

Going to be a great facility. Really happy with the number of teams now calling the Gulf Coast home for Spring Training. Makes for some much easier road trips.


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## RMB2007 (Apr 1, 2007)

> The Braves’ new-spring training stadium in southwest Florida will be called CoolToday Park.
> 
> A 20-year naming-rights deal was announced Tuesday at the stadium, which is under construction in the Sarasota County city of North Port.
> 
> ...


https://www.wsbtv.com/sports/name-unveiled-for-braves-new-spring-training-stadium/883093887


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## will101 (Jan 16, 2011)

Holman Stadium at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. The Dodgers played their spring training games here from 1953-2008.










https://twitter.com/OldBallparks/status/963108594412609538


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## RMB2007 (Apr 1, 2007)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked state funding for a new Tampa Bay Rays training facility partly because the baseball team spoke out against gun violence in the wake of back-to-back gun-related massacres in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, a source familiar with the internal conversations told CNN.

DeSantis on Thursday used his line-item veto powers to eliminate $35 million for a sports training and youth tournament complex in Pasco County, in the Tampa Bay area, which local officials hoped could serve as the new player development facility for the Rays. On Friday, he said he eliminated the funding because "I don't support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums."

But a source said the Republican leader had not made up his mind until the Rays took an organizational stance calling for action in the wake of the latest mass shootings.









DeSantis blocks state money for Tampa Bay Rays training facility after team tweets against gun violence | CNN Politics


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked state funding for a new Tampa Bay Rays training facility partly because the baseball team spoke out against gun violence in the wake of back-to-back gun-related massacres in Texas and New York, a source familiar with the internal conversations told CNN.




edition.cnn.com


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## KingmanIII (Aug 25, 2008)

It makes one wonder: what more incentives do the Rays need to relocate from Florida?

Even Omaha and their park would better support them in the interim.


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## aquamaroon (Dec 7, 2015)

RMB2007 said:


> DeSantis blocks state money for Tampa Bay Rays training facility after team tweets against gun violence | CNN Politics
> 
> 
> Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked state funding for a new Tampa Bay Rays training facility partly because the baseball team spoke out against gun violence in the wake of back-to-back gun-related massacres in Texas and New York, a source familiar with the internal conversations told CNN.
> ...


Another pathetic stunt by that virtue signaling moron (and for those confused by what I may mean, "worshiping guns" is considered a virtue among DeSantis' base) that only serves to harm the people of his state and benefit his chances in an upcoming Republican presidential primary where they love this kind of thing. This country is ever more slowly sliding into an idiocracy run by violent angry idiots and a guy like DeSantis is their Pied Piper, meanwhile all the sane people in the USA have to look on with horror and disgust and resignation as the right wing media zombies move to turn this country into one giant version of Florida, our most insane state. And you know what, if the electorate decides this wannabe fascist buffoon is who they want, they deserve whatever comes from their choice.


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