A month before spring training starts and the name of the spring home of the New York Mets is up in the air, as the team and St. Lucie County are having a hard time selling naming rights to what’s now known as Mets Stadium. The ballpark has been known by several different names over […]
Tag Archives | spring training
The Week That Was: December 23
New logos for the St. Lucie Mets, new teams in Kenosha and Saratoga, and financial results in New York City and Phoenix. The most popular stores on Ballpark Digest the past week, as measured by page views. Updated look for St. Lucie Mets unveiled Holidays are days of optimism in baseball world Citi Field revenues […]
Holidays are days of optimism in baseball world
The time period between Christmas and New Year’s is an odd one, and more than a little awkward, too. That goes for the world in general, but it’s especially true for those who work in the baseball industry, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains. There is a hangover effect to Christmas, which has so much time and effort […]
Spring training brings $632 million to Phoenix economy: studies
Spring training in Phoenix pumps $632 million into the local economy year-round, according to studies released by the Cactus League Baseball Association and Elliott D. Pollack & Co. From the Arizona Republic: The study found that 56 percent of the 1.7 million fans attending games this past spring were out-of-state visitors and the median stay in […]
Lee County commissioner: Nats unlikely to move to Fort Myers
Efforts to bring the Washington Nationals to Fort Myers will likely end in failure, says a Lee County commissioner, because the county has no money to fix up City of Palms Park. County officials have been wooing the Nationals for several months, a time that includes an exclusive negotiating period for the two sides. The […]
Rangers to host exhibition games at Alamodome
The Texas Rangers will host two exhibition games at the end of spring training at the Alamodome, which brings up a long-time issue in the city: the future of baseball in San Antonio. The stadium, built for football and also serving as a past home of the San Antonio Spurs (NBA), will provide an interesting […]
ASU, Phoenix sit down to discuss Muni lease
With a partnership with the Chicago Cubs on a facility dead, Arizona State University is turning to Phoenix Municipal Stadium as the future home of the Sun Devils baseball program. ASU was slated to share a new Mesa spring-training facility with the Cubs, but negotiations over who pays what quickly turned sour, with Sun Devils […]
Funding for Twins spring-training renovations approved
After months of negotiations, Lee County agreed to a $42.5-million renovation of the Minnesota Twins’ spring-training complex that calls for new fan amenities at Hammond Stadium and upgraded training facilities for players. The complex hasn’t seen major changes since 1991, when the Twins moved in after spending most of the team’s history training in Orlando. […]
Arizona State walks away from Cubs, will explore Phoenix Muni lease
Arizona State University athletic-department officials say they’re done negotiating with the Chicago Cubs to share the team’s new Mesa spring-training complex and will instead look to other potential homes for the Sun Devils baseball team. The following statement was issued late yesterday: “After many months of negotiation, ASU regrets that the effort to have the […]
Lee County to vote on Twins training upgrades Nov. 6
It’s not a done deal, but it’s close: Lee County is poised to approve $41.6 million in upgrades to Hammond Stadium and the Lee County Sports Complex, the spring home of the Minnesota Twins. The deal could keep the Twins in Fort Myers for the next 50 years, conceivably through 2065 (assuming the lease extension […]
Kissimmee pitching two-team complex for spring training
With the Houston Astros likely leaving Osceola County Stadium when the team’s lease ends in 2015, Kissimmee officials are working on a new spring-training complex that could house the ‘Stros and possibly the Washington Nationals. It’s all speculative and far from final, but Kissimmee Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Executive Director Shelley Maccini reported this week […]
Twins, Lee County close to agreement on Hammond Stadium upgrades
The Minnesota Twins and Lee County are close to announcing a $45-million plan to upgrade Hammond Stadium, the team’s spring home, as part of a 30-year lease extension. The plan calls for the state to pay $15 million toward the project under the terms of a Florida fund set up to retain spring training, the […]
The Week That Was: October 14
The future of Richmond baseball, spring training, new ownership in affiliated and indy ranks, and the new-ballpark efforts in Tampa Bay. The top stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Coca-Cola Field / Buffalo Bisons Glendale: We need to rework spring-training leases Spat between Cubs, Mayor Rahm continues Canal […]