A Montreal radio station is reporting the Toronto Blue Jays are set for a return to Olympic Stadium in 2015 for an exhibition series against the Cincinnati Reds. The return to the former home of the Montreal Expos was seen by many as being inevitable after the Jays and New York Mets drew 96,350 fans […]
Tag Archives | spring training
Dunedin focuses on new Blue Jays spring training site
Dunedin (Fla.) officials have identified a potential site for a new Toronto Blue Jays spring training site, but the hard work — like acquiring the land and funding — remain. We have the full details on our sister site, Spring Training Online. The gist of the matter: The Blue Jays want a new spring-training home […]
Tigers, Lakeland agree on spring training lease extension
The city of Lakeland and the Detroit Tigers reached an agreement on a lease extension, committing the pair to Tiger Town and Joker Marchant Stadium upgrades, while keeping the team in central Florida through 2036. The $37-million plan for Tiger Town and Joker Marchant Stadium upgrades includes an expanded press box, new synthetic surfaces for […]
Chandler moves ahead with Compadre Stadium demolition
The Chandler (Az.) City Council last night approved a zoning change allowing housing development on a 65-acre site that include Compadre Stadium, former spring-training home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Compadre Stadium opened in 1986 as spring home of the Brewers, replacing the team’s home in Sun City. It was only home to the Brewers until […]
Future of Al Lang Field under review — again
With the city of St. Petersburg mapping a new waterfront development plan and the Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) seeking a new stadium, the future of historic Al Lang Field will be mapped out in coming months. The Al Lang Field site has been used for spring training and professional baseball since 1923, but the present […]
City of Palms Park has new tenant: Edison State College
In a move that will keep the ballpark open for at least a decade but likely precludes a return of spring training, Edison State College is bringing back baseball and playing at Fort Myers’ City of Palms Park. Edison State College officials decided a year ago to bring back baseball, and the entire school is […]
Palm Beach County receives funding boost from state for spring training
The chances of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals landing a new spring-training site in Palm Beach County increased last week when the Florida Legislature passed a new funding bill for pro sports facilities. HB 7095, which passed both the House and the Senate and is likely to be signed by Gov. Rick Scott, would […]
Blue Jays: Let’s price out spring-training upgrades in Dunedin
The Toronto Blue Jays are pricing out improvements to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium and the Englebert training complex to determine whether the team keeps training in Dunedin. We have more details on the situation at our sister site, Spring Training Online. But the gist of the matter is clear: the Blue Jays want to stay […]
Compadre Stadium finally set for demolition
Vacated by the Milwaukee Brewers following 1997 spring training, Chandler’s run-down Compadre Stadium could be demolished this summer, as a developer has proposed housing on the site. Compadre Stadium has always presented an interesting issue for Chandler officials. Despite the boom in spring-training facilities in the greater Phoenix area, Chandler officials never really pushed Compadre […]
MLB sets spring-training per-game attendance record
We have a new attendance record for spring training, as MLB teams attracted 8,078 fans per game over 447 games played, surpassing a record set in 2008. In fact, attendance in 2014 pretty much shattered the old record of 7,793 fans per game and far outpaced last year’s total of 7,527 fans per game. The […]
Cactus League attendance up in 2014
With Cubs Park packing in the fans, Cactus League per-game attendance was up in 2014, although the total attendance was slightly down because of fewer game days. Overall, 1.68 million fans attended Cactus League games, according to Cactus League officials. That’s less than the 1.73 million fans attending Cactus League games in 2013, but there’s […]
FAA to Nationals: Drop the drone
Weird story out of spring training: the Washington Nationals were ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to stop using a drone camera to photograph practices at the team’s Viera complex. The Nationals were using a drone to take photos of practices, presumably for marketing. Now, in this case, when we’re talking drone, we’re not […]
PBC moves forward with Astros, Nationals spring-training camp
Although Palm Beach County commissioners voted to move ahead with planning on a spring-training complex for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, several funding pieces need to fall into place before the first shovel of dirt is turned. The commissioners voted to move forward with a deal with the two teams for a complex that […]