The Atlanta Braves will celebrate a milestone on Friday morning, whey they host a topping off ceremony at their upcoming spring training complex in North Port, FL.
The Braves are currently working on the upcoming spring training complex in North Port, located in Sarasota County. When it opens for full operations in 2020, the facility will replace Champion Stadium and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as the team’s spring training home.
Ground was broken for the project last fall, and a major task will be checked off with Friday morning’s topping off ceremony. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Although much work remains to be done, the ceremony at the construction site in North Port, Fla., will mark the installation of the last steel beam atop the stadium and signal significant progress on the $125 million project.
The Braves are scheduled to be represented at the event by John Schuerholz, the team’s vice chairman emeritus, and others. Sarasota County and North Port government officials also will attend, along with leaders of the construction team.
The timeline for the new spring training complex’s completion has changed since construction began last fall. It was previously anticipated that the Braves would move their full operations there in 2019, but that was later pushed back to 2020. The Braves are currently expected to close out their spring with one game at the new North Port ballpark next year, but exercised an option to return to the Orlando-area Champion Stadium and ESPN Wide World of Sports in 2019. Full spring training operations would move to North Port in 2020.
The new North Port complex’s ballpark will feature 6,200 fixed seats, plus 1,000 berm seats. It will also feature some of the amenities found at many newer spring-training venues, including a 360-degree concourse and an outfield patio and bar area.
RELATED STORIES: Construction of Braves Spring Training Complex Unfolds; Braves Delay North Port Move to 2020; Price Tag for New Braves Spring Training Complex: $110M; Vote Expected for Braves Spring Training Complex; State Approves Grant for Atlanta Braves Spring Training Complex; Braves Await State Grant for New Spring Training Complex; North Port Commits $4.7M Towards New Atlanta Braves Spring-Training Complex; North Port Officials Request Study on Braves Complex; Planning for Braves Spring Training Complex Continues; Braves Spring Training Agreements Approved; Sarasota County to Weigh in on Braves Spring Training Agreement; Braves Spring Training Spending Approved by Sarasota County; North Port Approves Term Sheet for Braves Complex; Sarasota County Approves Braves Spring Training Term Sheet; Braves Sarasota County Spring Complex Moves Forward; Braves to Negotiate New Sarasota County Spring Complex; Braves Continue Spring Training Ballpark Pursuit; Collier County Rejects Atlanta Braves Spring-Training Pitch; Two Teams Training in Sarasota County? Could Happen; Collier County Back in Play for Braves Spring Training Camp; Braves Spring Training Move Pushed Back to 2019