Ed Smith Stadium has seen a lot of change in recent years. First, the Cincinnati Reds and Sarasota Reds bailed at the end of the 2009 season. Then the Baltimore Orioles shifted spring-training operations to Sarasota for 2010, signing a 30-year contract to play at a renovated facility. This offseason more extensive changes will take […]
Tag Archives | florida
Dunedin Stadium / Dunedin Blue Jays / Toronto Blue Jays
Tucked away in the corner of a Tampa/St. Pete suburb, Dunedin Stadium (formerly known as Knology Park) is a facility designed for spring-training needs, not to serve the audience of a Class A Florida State League team. As a result, there’s not a lot of excitement surrounding a Dunedin Blue Jays game: the team is […]
SunLife Stadium / Florida Marlins
SunLife Stadium is a great place to catch a football game, but so far unsuccessful in sustaining any kind of fan base for baseball. This will be the final season there for the Florida Marlins. FAST FACTS Year Opened: 1987 Capacity: 47,622 Architect: Populous Dimensions: 330L, 385LC, 434LC, 404C, 385RC, 345R Playing Surface: Grass Website: […]
Jackie Robinson Ballpark / Daytona Cubs
You don’t get any more Floridian than Jackie Robinson Ballpark, home of the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League. Much of Florida’s baseball history intersects on this small island outside of downtown Daytona Beach, while one of the most important events in baseball history took place there as well. FAST FACTS Year Built: […]
Champion Stadium / Atlanta Braves
The spring-training home of the Atlanta Braves, Champion Stadium (formerly known as Disney Field, Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Cracker Jack Stadium and The Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex) is architecturally one of the flashier venues for spring training.It’s also one of the largest: with 9,500 seats (80 percent between the first […]
Bright House Field / Philadelphia Phillies / Clearwater Threshers
When you replace a classic Florida State League ballpark, your new home had better be damned impressive. Ballparks fans shed a tear when the Phillies decided to replace Jack Russell Stadium with a new ballpark, but the replacement — Bright House Networks Field — is such a great facility, you’ll find yourself rarely yearning for […]
Al Lang Field
Though it’s not quite the old ballpark it once was, Al Lang Field deserves a special place in the hearts and minds of baseball fans. It will more than likely be torn down in coming years to make way for either parkland or a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. But if you find yourself in […]