City of Palms Park will host professional baseball action this week, as the Fort Myers Miracle (High A; Florida State League) will play Wednesday’s home game at the ballpark.
City of Palms Park originally opened in Fort Myers in 1993 as the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox played spring training games at the ballpark until JetBlue Park opened in 2012, and City of Palms Park has since become the home of Florida SouthWestern State College baseball.
The ballpark will host the Miracle on Wednesday, when they take on the visiting Bradenton Marauders. The Miracle normally plays home games at Hammond Stadium, but will shift Wednesday’s 12:00 p.m. contest to accommodate the Florida High School Athletic Association baseball finals. More from The News-Press:
The Miracle hope relocating near downtown Fort Myers for a day would help draw a different, lunchtime audience to minor league baseball, Miracle general manager Chris Peters said. The Miracle are the Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
“Come on down, have a hot dog and a beer,” Peters said. “And then go back to work. Or not.
“It’s a cool thing to bring baseball back to downtown for a day.”
Following the Red Sox’s departure, there was considerable debate surrounding the future of City of Palms Park, including discussions about converting it to a swimming facility or renovating it to lure another spring training tenant. However, the agreement with Florida SouthWestern State College has given City of Palms Park a steady tenant. The college’s baseball program plays its games at the ballpark, while the softball program uses an adjacent backfield.