The Washington Nationals have a vision of a Fort Myers training base with unified facilities — but it’s questionable whether Lee County has the money to pull off the plan. One of the big reasons why the Boston Red Sox left City of Palms Park in central Fort Myers: the team’s training facility was a […]
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JetBlue Park at Fenway South / Boston Red Sox
The ballpark has been open for less than a week, but JetBlue Park, the new spring home of the Boston Red Sox, is drawing praise for easy accessibility and a Florida-themed design. FAST FACTS Year Opened: 2012Capacity: 11,000Budget: $77.8 million (includes $20 million for land and $7.2 million for design)Architect: PopulousConstruction: Manhattan Kraft ConstructionConcessions: AramarkDimensions: […]
Gammons: Nats present spring-training wish list to Lee County
The Washington Nationals reportedly have given Lee County officials a wish list for a renovation of City of Palms Park and could move spring operations there in 2014, according to Peter Gammons. Here’s Gammons’ tweet: “Nats gave Lee County their plans to reconstruct Boston’s former downtown Fort Myers park, likely there in 2014 if county […]
Lee County pitches Nats on spring-training move
Lee County officials are once again pitching Washington Nationals brass on a move to the vacant City of Palms Park, but there are no plans yet for the team to shift from Viera’s Space Coast Stadium. The information comes from Lee County Commissioners pursuing another MLB team for spring training. How much serious interest there […]
Is Nats, Brevard County marriage over?
The Washington Nationals are clearly on the prowl for a new spring-training home, as it becomes more and more apparent that Brevard County isn’t going to do a lot to keep the team at Space Coast Stadium. We’ve documented meetings with Nats officials and reps from various municipalities — Osceola County, Fort Myers, Winter Haven, […]
Will spring training return to City of Palms Park any time soon? Not likely
A Lee County Commissioner charged with exploring options for City of Palms Park, the former spring home of the Boston Red Sox, says there might be interest out there from MLB teams, but any move would be an extreme long-shot. Commissioner John Manning says he’s heard second-hand that two teams — one currently training in […]
Remembering Winter Haven’s spring-training heritage
Though it’s unlikely spring training will ever return to Winter Haven in central Florida, the city can look back on a several MLB teams training in the city. Here’s a look at the history of spring training in Winter Haven. The News Chief laid out the history of spring baseball in Winter Haven, which began […]
Lee County to move forward with City of Palms Park aquatic conversion
Lee County will move to the next stage of negotiations with the National Swimming Corp. to covert City of Palms Park, the former spring-training home of the Boston Red Sox, to a natatorium after county commissioners realized pro baseball was not in the facility’s future. The proposal has the company paying $18.2 million to convert […]
Future of City of Palms Park still under debate
Though many in Fort Myers would like to see another MLB team train at City of Palms Park, that’s not happening any time soon, and Lee County is struggling to find a future use for the ballpark — with an outdoor pool again at the top of the list. It’s no secret Fort Myers and […]
It’s truck day!
At MLB clubhouses across the nation, the same scenario will be played out in the next few days: large trucks bearing lots of equipment will heading to Florida or Arizona, to be broken out for spring training. Yes, friends, it’s Truck Day! At least for the Red Sox, who not only have made Truck Day […]
New Red Sox spring facilities bids come in slightly over budget
Construction bids on a new spring-training facility for the Boston Red Sox came in slightly over budget, with the end number tallied at $77.7 million — or around $2.7 million above the $75 million budget. Nothing will be cut from the budget, however. Lee County Commissioners will meet next week to approve the final numbers […]
Lee County passes on City of Palms as a swim facility
Lee County has decided to pass on a proposal to convert City of Palms Park, the spring home of the Boston Red Sox, to a swimming facility after National Swimming Center Corp. failed to provide detailed financial information. The proposal would have converted Fort Myers’ City of Palms Park to a natatorium to host competitive […]
Old Fenway Park scoreboard to be featured at new BoSox camp
A manual scoreboard previously used in Fenway Park will be installed at the new Boston Red Sox spring-training ballpark in Fort Myers, Florida — if it can be located. The 15-by-60-foot manual scoreboard was removed in 2001 and shipped to Counterpart, Inc., for renovations. That firm says it doesn’t have the scoreboard, though; presumably architect […]