The new spring home of the Cleveland Indians combines a state-of-the-art training complex with one of the more pleasant ballparks in the Cactus League. < Previous: Other ballpark highlights We also took an extensive tour of the Indians training facility. Splitting off the training facility from the ballpark is something that’s fallen out of favor […]
Archive | Visits
Joker Marchant Stadium / Detroit Tigers / Lakeland Flying Tigers
It is hard to not be a Detroit Tigers fan when visiting Joker Marchant Stadium during spring training: even if you dislike the Tigers or heavily prefer the visiting team, the charm and history of Joker Marchant Stadium and Tiger Town will win you over. They are institutions of spring training, with Tiger Town now […]
HoHoKam Park / Chicago Cubs
Considering the Chicago Cubs play the regular season in one of the most charming ballparks in baseball, a visit to HoHoKam Park in March will tend to be disappointing to anyone but the most hardcore Cubbie fan. In some ways HoHoKam is the polar opposite of Wrigley Field: the old ballpark at Clark and Addison […]
Hammond Stadium / Fort Myers Miracle / Minnesota Twins
Hammond Stadium may be best known as the spring home of the Minnesota Twins, but it’s also home to the Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League. Located on the southern edge of Fort Myers, the ballpark is clearly geared to the Twins and spring training, but the Miracle team draws well (at least […]
Great American Ball Park / Cincinnati Reds
Themed ballparks always seem a little gimmicky. That’s why we were a little apprehensive before visiting Great American Ball Park, the home of the Cincinnati Reds. As the home of the first professional baseball team, Cincinnati is a well-known baseball hotbed, and a great area deserves a great ballpark. But the Reds make a big […]
Fenway Park / Boston Red Sox
It’s not every day when an icon manages to meet your expectations, never mind exceed them. But Fenway Park, the Mecca for everyone interested in balkparks on any level, not only meets expectations but shatters them. It is true that at Fenway the grass is greener, the hot dogs are tastier, and the fans more […]
Tropicana Field / Tampa Bay Rays
Let’s get this right out of the way: Tropicana Field is not the worst facility in the major leagues. The Metrodome clearly is. By far. Now, having said that, it’s also clear that Tropicana Field is the second-worst facility in the majors. In many ways it’s directly comparable to the Metrodome, as both hated domes […]
Ed Smith Stadium / Baltimore Orioles
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 […]
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: […]
Dodger Stadium / Los Angeles Dodgers
When you talk about venerable major-league ballparks, a short list must contain Dodger Stadium. Built in 1962 by the O’Malley family and designed by Emil Praeger on the hillside of Chavez Ravine, Dodger Stadium for many years was the gold standard in ballparks, the facility by which all other ballparks were compared. FACT FACTS Year […]
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 […]
Coors Field / Colorado Rockies
Spend some time in Denver’s LoDo District and you’ll soon realize how homogenous the area is: the former warehouse area surrounding the train station is on a human scale (most buildings are three or four stories high), with darker brickwork the dominant architectural element. So the challenge facing the designers of Coors Field, the home […]