Goodyear's First Spring in the Cactus League Labeled A Success?
Goodyear's inaugural spring training was considered a success, at least by the city, which noted on their Web site:

"Almost 100,000 fans attended spring-training games at the Ballpark, a record for the Cleveland Indians. The final tally represents a 14 percent increase over the team's previous record in 2008. The season’s high attendance resulted in strong ticket sales, which grossed nearly $1.6 million and is about 17 to 20 percent higher than projected."

But there's some spin in that statement.

True, the Tribe set a total attendance record, but average game attendance was down 448 fans per game from 2008, Cleveland's final in Winter Haven.

Here's the team's home attendance numbers for comparison:

2009: 96,080 fans for 18 games, a 5,338 average
Goodyear Ballpark was filled to 53.4% of its capacity (10,000)

2008: 87,383 fans for 15 games, a 5,826 average
Winter Haven's Chain of Lakes Park was filled to 83.2% of its capacity (7,000)

So the case can be made that the Indians' first year in Goodyear was anything but a success, despite the city's projections, which if accurate would have meant the per game average would've been only between 4,270 and 4,430. The Indians averaged more than 4,500 in each of their last five years in Winter Haven, which has almost exactly half the population of Goodyear (52,864 vs. 26,487).

Truth be told, it's hard to believe the truth is being told when the official word is "the season’s high attendance resulted in strong ticket sales." But it's even harder to believe that Goodyear expected such abysmal numbers in the first place. The economy may have been abysmal itself, but it wasn't that bad that the ballpark, on average, should not have been half full.

After all, if expectations were that low, why would the city be so eager to spend $108 million on a new ballpark and training complex in the first place?

2018 Spring Training News Archives
Same Places, New Names in Florida
In a flurry of recent renaming activity, four Grapefruit League ballparks changed their names (in 2017) while another two parks made slight alterations to what they're called (in 2018). So the Phillies now play at Spectrum Field (formerly Bright House Field), the Pirates at LECOM Park, which was McKechnie Field, Mets games are held at First Data Field, which became the name of what had been Tradition Field, and the Blue Jays' exhibition home simply became Dunedin Stadium when its previous name, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, expired. To conclude the rebranding bonanza, Roger Dean Stadium has been amended so that the Cardinals and Marlins now play at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium and the Astros and Nationals now host their games at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches after FITTEAM was added to the front of the ballpark's name.

2017 Spring Training News Archives
Same Places, New Names in Florida
In a flurry of renaming activity, four Grapefruit League ballparks changed their names in 2017, including three in a span of just 45 days. So the Phillies, as of January 9, now play at Spectrum Field (formerly Bright House Field), the Pirates at LECOM Park, which was McKechnie Field prior to February 10, and Mets games are held at First Data Field, which on February 23 became the name of what had been Tradition Field. To conclude the rebranding bonanza, the Blue Jays' exhibition home simply became Dunedin Stadium on October 1, when its previous name, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, expired. So when you see those foreign sounding names know that only what the four ballparks are called has changed and the Blue Jays, Mets, Phillies and Pirates will still be playing in the same venues and exact locations as they long have been.

2016 Spring Training News Archives
2016 Spring Training is History
For the sixth straight year, over three million fans officially attended games at Cactus and Grapefruit League ballparks. The 10 in Arizona hosted 1,884,150 fans for 228 Cactus League games, while paying customers totaled 1,499,460 for 213 Grapefruit League games at Florida's 14 spring training parks. Collectively, the leagues' 24 ballparks drew 3,383,610 fans to 441 games, a per game average of 7,673, with the Cactus League (8,264) besting the Grapefruit League (7,040) by 1,224. Those numbers don't include crowd counts for "other" games played at spring training ballparks, for which 31,120 attended 8 openings between MLB teams and college or national squads. And there were also 55,508 who saw games in Phoenix and Miami during spring training at the major league stadiums there. So that meant 3,443,920 paid their way into 35 days worth of games, spanning from February 28 through April 2, in Arizona and Florida during the 2016 spring training season. On the field, the Diamondbacks (24-8-3) and Nationals (18-4-3) topped their respective leagues' standings, and they were among five teams to lose less than 10 games. Four teams failed to win at least 10 games, with the Braves (6-20-6) sporting the worst record among the group that included the Mets, Padres and Pirates. Games can end tied in spring training and that happened 38 times. The Angels and Braves, with 6 ties each, played the most games that ended with neither a winner nor loser, while the Royals were the only team not to play a game that ended tied during the five weeks of play in baseball's two spring training states. For a more complete account of what transpired on the field and in the stands, read our 2016 Spring Training Recap.

2015 Spring Training News Archives
2015 Spring Training is History
For the fifth straight year, over three million fans officially attended games at Cactus and Grapefruit League ballparks. The 10 in Arizona hosted 1,867,935 fans for 229 Cactus League games, while paying customers totaled 1,578,485 for 229 Grapefruit League games at Florida's 14 spring training parks. Collectively, the leagues' 24 ballparks drew 3,446,420 fans to 458 games, a per game average of 7,525, with the Cactus League (8,157) besting the Grapefruit League (6,893) by 1,264. Those numbers don't include crowd counts for "other" games played at spring training ballparks, for which 44,771 attended 10 openings between MLB teams and college, minor league and national squads. And there were also 39,959 who saw games in Phoenix and St. Petersburg during spring training at the major league stadiums there. So that meant 3,531,150 paid their way into 35 days worth of games, spanning from March 1 through April 4, in Arizona and Florida during the 2015 spring training season. On the field, the A's (21-7-2) and Blue Jays (18-12) topped their respective leagues' standings, with the A's and Dodgers (14-9-7) being the only teams to lose less than 10 games. The Rangers (9-16-4) were the only team that failed to win at least 10 games. Games can end tied in spring training and that happened 33 times. The Dodgers, with 7 ties, played the most games that ended with neither a winner nor loser, while the Blue Jays were the only team not to play a game that ended tied during the five weeks of play in baseball's two spring training states. For a more complete account of what transpired on the field and in the stands, read our 2015 Spring Training Recap.

Cubs Now Play at Sloan Park
The name Cubs Park didn't last long, as the Mesa ballpark that opened in February 2014 has a new name as of January 8, 2015, when it was announced that the Sloan Valve Company had spent an undisclosed sum to name the Chicago Cubs' spring training home "Sloan Park" for the next 10 to 20 years. Sloan Valve is based in the Chicago suburbs and is best known for their toilet technology and products, some of which have been in Wrigley Field since it opened in 1914, a full century before what's now Sloan Park debuted. Although neither the dollar amount or exact duration of the deal were publicly released, the partnership between the Cubs and Sloan reportedly "is for seven figures annually" and includes publicity perks for the now much better known plumbing products company at Wrigley as well.

2014 Spring Training News Archives
Blue Jays, Dunedin Discuss New Stadium Site Near Florida Auto Exchange Stadium
The Blue Jays have been training in Dunedin since the franchise was established in 1977 and a site in the Tampa Bay-area city that has been vacant since 2005 may keep them in town well past 2017 spring training, when their present lease at the city-owned Florida Auto Exchange Stadium expires. The 22-acre site suggested for a new stadium and more was formerly occupied by office buildings and is a mere nine-tenths of a mile (0.9) from where the Blue Jays have always played their home Grapefruit League games in Dunedin, which not that long ago seemed to be the likely former spring training home of the Blue Jays, who were very close to joining the Houston Astros at a new, but yet-to-be-built two-team complex in Palm Beach County. The Astros are now partnering with the Washington Nationals in that plan, while the Blue Jays seem to prefer to maintain their partnership with Dunedin. As for the discussed potential new location, which is at 375 Patricia Avenue, it would enable the Jays to have some things they've always lacked at their current site, such as a full-sized practice field and parking lot. Ongoing negotiations between officials from Dunedin and the Blue Jays have been "productive," according to an article in the Dunedin Beacon on July 25 in which the Mayor reported "that there has been a good dialogue and close cooperation between the city and the Jays but challenges remain, such as financing and partnership issues for new facilities." But regardless, it looks like the only MLB team to never move their spring training operations to another city has their sights set on keeping the long-standing Dunedin-Blue Jays partnership intact.

Cubs Enjoy Record-Setting Debut Season at Cubs Park
Well, the Chicago Cubs are the best in something, as no team came close to what they drew to their new ballpark in Mesa this year: an all-time spring training record of 213,815 fans, which averaged out to 14,254 tickets sold per game, of which there were 15 played, at Cubs Park. For those that did not get a chance to sample the Cubs' Cactus League home in 2014, it's definitely a venue worth making a visit to in the future and, while the name of the ballpark will eventually change, the team will be playing there for at least the next 29 spring training seasons. Whether or not the Cubs will finally win another World Series during their original 30-year lease at Cubs Park is anyone’s guess, but the whole new complex is designed to help the North Siders reach that goal, which they’ve done twice but oh so very long ago in franchise history: 1907 and 1908.

Spring Training in Tucson is Officially Over
The Old Pueblo, as Tucson is nicknamed, will not host a spring training game this year, and thus a 66-year tradition in the birthplace city of the Cactus League will end. Site of the first "league" game on March 8, 1947, the Indians, Rockies, Diamondbacks and White Sox all permanently trained in Tucson at various times over the ensuing decades, playing games at Hi Corbett Field and Tucson Electric Park through 2010 spring training, and 7 games were still played in Tucson in 2011-13, with the city's Triple-A team, the Tucson Padres, organizing the exhibitions. But with the T-Padres moving to El Paso, TX, for 2014, a lack of permanent staff contributed to doom a return of 2 or 3 Cactus League games to Tucson in 2014. And thus, at last, spring training in Tucson is officially history, although it's possible/probable an annual game or two will be staged in future years, as the teams most likely to travel to Tucson for a game based on recent history (the Cubs, Dodgers and D-backs) all had issues preventing them from doing so in 2014.

Minnesota Day Set for March 16
Annual promotions are a rarity at any spring training ballpark, but the Twins' home in Fort Myers, Hammond Stadium, has been hosting a popular one for quite some time: Minnesota Day. It's simply a tailgate party amongst Minnesotans held prior to a game, and Minnesota Day is taking place on Sunday, March 16th in 2014, when the Marlins make the long trek from Jupiter to face the Twins. As for where the pre-game festivities take place, the party is held near the lake in the southwest corner of the Twins' complex, so all Minnesota natives should head there rather than inside the stadium.

2013 Spring Training News Archives
Palm Beach Gardens Expected to Lure 2 Teams With New Complex
With two Letters of Intent signed -- by the Astros and Blue Jays -- the City of Palm Beach Gardens is moving forward on making a new spring training complex in that city a reality. An approximately 117-acre site has already been selected. It's near I-95 and very close to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, which means four teams would be training in Palm Beach County and that spring training would be saved on the east coast of the state of Florida, from which enough teams have recently bolted (Dodgers & Orioles) or plan to bolt (Nationals), that the county's two other teams, the Cardinals and Marlins, would have the ability to opt out of their present leases. While the Palm Beach Gardens project is "early in the conceptual planning process," the Astros and Blue Jays have committed to leave Kissimmee and Dunedin, respectively, if the financing can be worked out to make just the second ever dual-team complex in the Grapefruit League a plan that comes to fruition. Much of the funding plan for the estimated $100 million complex centers around $50 million that the state provides (for a two-team complex) to keep teams training in Florida. Palm Beach County is scheduled to pay off Roger Dean Stadium in 2017 and they could use the portion of the local tourist tax that has been used to pay debt service on that ballpark for the new one, which could open as early as 2016 for the Astros. The Jays are committed to finishing their lease in Dunedin, which means 2018 is when they would be looking to leave their Tampa area site, although both team and city are adamant that abandonment is not a done deal.

Expected to Lose Astros, Kissimmee Aims to Lure New Team(s) to New Facility Circa 2017
With the Astros all but certain to bolt Kissimmee following 2016 spring training for a new complex near West Palm Beach, the movers and shakers in Osceola County want to build a new spring training complex across the street from the Astros' current site that could host two teams, if two teams can be found. Current speculation has the Nationals landing in Kissimmee regardless; the new wrinkle is Osceola County/Kissimmee is now angling to make their proposed investment a dual-team complex. If they can entice two teams, Osceola County, of which Kissimmee is the county seat, estimates that their "state-of-the-art complex featuring an all-new stadium, hotels and other amenities" would cost $140 million, of which the State of Florida would pay $50 million of. If it's just the Nationals (or one team), then the new complex estimate is in the $85 million to $95 million range, with the state's contribution capped at $20 million. Beyond what the state will pay, Osceola County will likely pay the full balance as the team(s) they would lure would likely not foot any of the bill. The county would be willing to make that deal given that a new two-team complex "has a projected annual economic impact of $173.6 million" on the area, according to a July 3rd article in the Orlando Sentinel. Although such numbers often seem bloated and hard to prove, the Astros in 2013 were said to have an economic impact of $65.6 million, which is an impressive estimate for a team that was factually 30th out of 30th in spring training home attendance, as the Astros pulled in a mere 3,350 per game (no other team averaged less than 4,000). If the County Commission approves what has presently been planned, the new spring training complex would be designed by HKS Architects and should open in 2017.

2013 Spring Training is History
For the third straight year, three million plus fans officially attended games at Cactus and Grapefruit League ballparks. The 10 in Arizona hosted 1,640,165 fans for 239 Cactus League games, while paying customers totaled 1,621,986 for 246 Grapefruit League games at Florida's 14 parks. Collectively, the leagues' 24 ballparks drew 3,262,151 fans to 485 games, a per game average of 6,726, with the Cactus League (6,863) besting the Grapefruit League (6,593) by 270. Those numbers don't include crowd counts for "other" games played at spring training ballparks, such as the 84,489 that attended WBC exhibitions and the 13,049 that saw MLB teams host college squads. And there were also 66,016 who saw games in Phoenix, St. Petersburg and Tucson. Add it all up and you get 3,425,705 who paid their way into 38 days worth of games, spanning from February 21 through March 30, during the 2013 spring training season. On the field, the Orioles (19-9-4) and Royals (25-7-2) topped their respective leagues' standings, and were the only teams to lose less than 10 games. The Angels (9-18-4) were the only team that failed to win at least 10 games. For a more complete account of what transpired on the field and in the stands, read our 2013 Spring Training Recap.

Tigers Allow Fans Early Entrance to Watch BP for $5
In general, the gates at spring training ballparks don't open early enough for fans to see the home team hit, which usually happens between two and three hours before game time. That being the case, the Tigers came up with the idea to offer fans that opportunity...for a fee. For $5, fans can now get into Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium an hour or so early to watch the Tigers take their BP from the place where BP homers often land: the grass hill in left field. For fans wanting to partake in the "batting practice experience," the cost is added onto the regular cost of a ticket at the box office, where already bought tickets can be upgraded for the same $5 price. You must have a game ticket to be eligible to get in early and the only part of the ballpark that is open early is the berm and left field line bleacher grandstand. Admission is via the 3rd base gate only and the time for early batting practice admittance can vary slightly. For day games, it's usually 10:00 a.m. but it actually depends on when the Tigers start hitting, which could be later like 10:15 but is always going to be in the 10:00ish range. While many teams will likely copy the Tigers and offer such access in the future, right now they're the only one doing it exactly this way. As for fan interest, about 2,000 showed up to see Tigers BP on February 23. The two games that preceded the opener averaged about 200 early admissions.

Name Change: Digital Domain Park is No More
After only two full spring training seasons as being known as Digital Domain Park, the Mets' Grapefruit League grounds in Port St. Lucie is searching for a new name after Digital Domain Media Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 11, just four days after the movie effects company closed their animation studio that was a short distance from the stadium they bought the naming rights for on March 23, 2010. It's the second time in three years that a sponsor will default on naming rights for the ballpark, which was called Tradition Field from 2004 until March 2, 2010. For now, the stadium will go by the generic name of Mets Stadium, although most media outlets still refer to it as Digital Domain Park, which Spring Training Connection will continue to do until a new naming partner is found.

WBC vs. MLB Teams to Take Place 20 Times This Spring
The World Baseball Classic returns in 2013 and there's a special slate of spring training games to help some countries prepare for it. Seventeen ballparks get in on hosting the friendly action, with tickets generally available for half-price for games like Dominican Republic-Yankees and Team USA-White Sox. Match-ups like those only come around in spring training every four years, and our 2013 WBC Exhibitions Schedule lists all 20 that are scheduled for this spring. You can also take a look at the 36 that were played in 2009, when MLB teams went 23-12-1 against 13 national teams, including eventual WBC champion Japan.

Old Al Lang Field Will Again Host Spring Training Baseball in 2013
For the third straight spring training, baseball will be played at historic Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg. Last used for a Grapefruit League game on March 28, 2008, the bayfront grounds where baseball players have trained since 1922 began hosting professional teams each March again after a three-year hiatus in 2011 with the advent of the St. Petersburg International Spring Baseball Series. Featuring exhibition games involving the national teams from Canada and the Netherlands in its first two years, those squads are competing in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and thus are unavailable, so instead "prospect squads" from the Braves, Orioles and Phillies will be competing in a mini "Spring Training Tournament" from March 10-14. Last year, the foreign squads played 10 games against the Blue Jays, Braves, Phillies, Pirates, Rays and Tigers, although the major league competition that the Canadian and Dutch teams faced were mostly comprised of an organization's minor leaguers. This year's tournament is a mere three-game round robin exclusively between minor leaguers that will be played in what was for a long time the best major league spring training setting. For the 2013 schedule and other pertinent information about what's now known as Progress Energy Park at Al Lang Field, visit the St. Petersburg International Baseball website.

Two Games Scheduled For Tucson
For the third straight March, spring training games have been added to the Cactus League schedule to continue a tradition of playing them in Tucson, where four teams trained from 1947 through 2010. The Diamondbacks-Padres on March 17 and Cubs-Dodgers on March 21 will be the 6th and 7th split-squad match-ups in Tucson since the spring training era presumably ended there when the D-backs and Rockies left the Old Pueblo for the greener pastures of Salt River Fields in 2011. That year two games kept Tucson's spring training streak alive, three more exhibitions extended it in 2012, and the two games set for 2013 will make it the 67th straight year that games have been played in Tucson. Both this spring will be played at Kino Stadium, the former spring training home of the Diamondbacks and White Sox, and start at 1:05 p.m. Meanwhile, Hi Corbett Field, the historic former home of the Indians and Rockies, still gets plenty of use, as the 76-year old ballpark is now home to the University of Arizona baseball team and the Wildcats play 38 games there this year.

2012 Spring Training News Archives
Ground is Broken For New Cubs Spring Training Complex
The countdown to the next new spring training stadium has officially begun and the city of Mesa has 19 months to get it done following the July 11th groundbreaking of the complex that the Chicago Cubs will be moving to in 2014. The future site is about three miles west of the Cubs' current Cactus League home, Hohokam Park, and is being constructed, at a cost of $99 million to the city, on land where a golf course had stood for a half-century. The Cubs have trained continuously in Mesa since 1979 and the new ballpark will be the third one used in the city by them since then. The team also hopes to share it with a sublessee -- Arizona State University (although talks between the two have not been going well) -- while Mesa is trying to lure the Oakland A's into the stadium that the Cubs will be abandoning, which hasn't made officials happy in Phoenix, where the A's have trained since 1982. As for the new place, it will hold 15,000 fans and the Cubs have a 30-year agreement with Mesa to play in what will be the largest capacity spring training stadium ever built.

Fans Flock to Games Under Floodlights
While nearly 90% of spring training games begin in the afternoon, fans continue to fill up a greater percentage of stadium seats for night games, which may be becoming more popular as a result. In 2009-10, just 91 games were scheduled to start after 6:00 PM. That number increased to 115 for the 2011-12 seasons. In all four of those seasons, the average game attendance in both leagues was easily much higher for the easier to attend night games than day games. For example, in 2012 the Cactus League averaged 8,202 fans for its 27 night games and 7,406 for its 205 day games. The Grapefruit League's numbers were similarly higher: a 7,575 average for 29 night games versus 6,816 for 211 afternoon games. So the bottom line is better at the box office at night with both teams and fans benefiting, as out-of-towners have the opportunity to see two games in one calendar day while local fans can go to the midweek games they usually must miss to work. As for the teams missing out on the nighttime bonanza, just six did not host a night game in 2012: the Angels, Brewers and Cubs in Arizona and the Blue Jays, Cardinals and Phillies in Florida. Those were also the only six teams not to host a night game in 2011.

Brewers Decide to Remain in Maryvale
Only one team's spring training lease expired in 2012 and that team decided on April 3 to stay where they are a little while longer, with the emphasis being on little, as the Milwaukee Brewers re-upped with the City of Phoenix to continue using Maryvale Baseball Park through 2014. That deal was contingent on Phoenix making $1.5 million in improvements to the Brewers' offices and clubhouses and contains a series of 1-year options that the team can exercise to stay in their western Phoenix complex through 2022. Milwaukee has trained in Maryvale since 1998 and gets to keep all the revenue from tickets, concessions, souvenirs, advertising and parking. In 2012, the Brewers paid $554,509 in rent and drew an average paid crowd of 5,476 for their 15 Cactus League home games. The franchise has always trained in Arizona and prefers to stay in the state, although given the dismal state of the economy their options to move anywhere were limited. Only Scottsdale was briefly mentioned as a relocation target, but the Brewers quickly shot that rumor down. The team also declined to speak with officials in Fort Myers, FL about City of Palms Park, which the Red Sox vacated after 2011.

Guide to New Red Sox Spring Training Ballpark in Fort Myers Now Available
The Red Sox debuted their brand new spring training site in 2012, when JetBlue Park at Fenway South replaced their previous home in Fort Myers, City of Palms Park, which the team used from 1993 through 2011. While the ballparks are only about a dozen miles apart, they are worlds apart in amenities for both players and fans. Fan-friendly ballpark guides are the focus of this website, and the fully complete guide to JetBlue Park is ready to go for those who want to know what to expect at the newest state-of-the-art spring training stadium.

Major League Teams Return to Historic Al Lang Field in 2012
For the first 11 seasons of their big league existence, the Tampa Bay Rays trained for the regular season just down the street from their regular season home. When the Rays left Progress Energy Park (better known as Al Lang Field) following their final exhibition game there on March 28, 2008, it appeared that spring training in St. Petersburg would be gone for good, the bayfront grounds where baseball players had trained since 1922 no longer needed. But after mostly languishing for the three years after the Rays moved to Port Charlotte, old Al Lang Field was given new life in 2011 thanks to foreign teams choosing to train for America's national pastime on American soil, and the revived St. Pete ballpark hosted a handful of exhibition games. The event was dubbed the St. Petersburg International Spring Baseball Series and it will return in 2012, when the national teams from Canada and the Netherlands get some big league competition from the Blue Jays, Braves, Phillies, Pirates, Rays and Tigers. Locally-based St. Petersburg College is also a part of the mix, which will see 10 games played from March 6-18 on Al Lang Field at Progress Energy Park. The major league spring training competition that the foreign squads will face will probably be comprised of an organization's minor leaguers, so the likes of Ryan Howard aren't likely to be homering into the bay that begins just beyond left field. Still, the six MLB split-squads that will take the field in St. Petersburg this March is a big improvement over 2011, when the Rays were the only team to participate in a "friendly," which they won over the Dutch by a 4-3 score. For the full 2012 schedule of games and other pertinent information, visit the St. Petersburg International Baseball website.

Pros Go Against College Foes 7 Times in 2012
Once upon a time, professionals clashed with amateurs in exhibitions to kick off spring training. That explains why it wasn't uncommon for an inaugural game at a ballpark to pit a local nine against a Major League squad. Such was the case in 1991 when Edison Community College and the Minnesota Twins christened Hammond Stadium. Ditto for the stadium six miles from it, City of Palms Park, which made its debut two years later with the Boston Red Sox hosting Boston College. Nineteen years later, BC still makes their annual pilgrimage to Fort Myers to play the BoSox. In fact, they will be a part of the inaugural opening day doubleheader, along with Northeastern University, at the brand new JetBlue Park in Fort Myers on March 3. But otherwise spring training games involving college teams are becoming increasingly rare. In 2011, there were seven such match-ups, all played in Florida, where an eighth non-traditional exhibition was hosted by the Rays at their old spring training park in St. Petersburg against the national team from the Netherlands. The amateur teams went 1-7 in their eight games against MLB teams, with the lone victory coming by the University of Miami against the Marlins. In 2012, just six collegiate teams will have an opportunity to obtain glory in their big league exhibitions but Miami is not one of them. Instead, Florida Southern will got a shot twice while Boston College, Florida State, Georgetown, Northeastern and South Florida each get a single chance to shine on a Grapefruit League diamond.

2011 Spring Training News Archives
Salt River Fields Joins Spring Training Ballpark Line-Up
The newest spring training stadium in the Cactus League officially opened on February 26, 2011, when a capacity crowd of 12,514 helped the Diamondbacks and Rockies christen their new winter home, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. With its debut done, all 15 teams that train in Arizona now do so in the Phoenix area, as the D-backs and Rox moved up to the Valley of the Sun from Tucson. For all the details on the new Salt River Fields stadium in east Scottsdale, but sure to check out its completely up-to-date page here at Spring Training Connection.

Spring Training Baseball (and the Rays) Returns to Al Lang Field
For the first 11 seasons of their big league existence, the Tampa Bay Rays trained for the regular season just down the street from their regular season home. When the Rays left Progress Energy Park (better known as Al Lang Field) following their final exhibition game there on March 28, 2008, it appeared that spring training in St. Petersburg would be gone for good, the bayfront grounds where baseball players had trained since 1922 no longer needed. But after mostly languishing for the three years since the Rays moved to Port Charlotte, old Al Lang Field has been given new life thanks to foreign teams choosing to train for America's national pastime on American soil. And so during 2011 spring training national teams from Canada and the Netherlands will be playing games at Progress Energy Park, where on March 9 a split-squad of Rays will play the Dutch squad in a "friendly" that will draw attention to the St. Petersburg International Baseball program announced by the city's mayor in October. Mayor Bill Foster's goal is to have the international teams play multiple games against Major League teams, but for year #1 of the experiment the Rays' return to their roots is the only such match-up. Meanwhile, the Canadians and Dutch will play 15 to 20 games at Al Lang Field starting on February 26.

2010 Spring Training News Archives
Pros Perfect Against College Foes in 2010
Once upon a time, professionals clashed with amateurs in exhibitions to kick off spring training. That explains why it wasn't uncommon for an inaugural game at a ballpark to pit a local nine against a Major League squad. Such was the case in 1991 when Edison Community College and the Minnesota Twins christened Hammond Stadium. Ditto for the stadium six miles from it, City of Palms Park, which made its debut two years later with the Boston Red Sox hosting Boston College. Seventeen years later, BC still makes their annual pilgrimage to Fort Myers to play the BoSox, but spring training games involving college teams are becoming increasingly rare. In 2010 there were seven such match-ups, all played in Florida, where an eighth non-traditional exhibition was hosted by the Yankees in Tampa against their "Future Stars." All eight games were won by the pros, by an aggregate score of 89-19, which translates into an average score of roughly 11-2. The kids fared better in 2009, when Manatee Community College upset the Pirates 6-4, which was the lone blemish by the pros in a mere five games. The group of collegians that went 0-7 in 2010 hailed from Boston College, Florida Southern, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Northeastern and the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, which changed its name from Manatee Community College shortly after obtaining glory in Bradenton in 2009.

Planning For Spring Training
What do you need to know before you go? Joe Connor helps you answer that question in his article, 5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Planning Your 2010 Spring Training Trip. Joe follows that piece up with a little recent history about each team training in Arizona and Florida to explain why the sport's playoff parity has been good for Spring Training ticket sales.

Judge Upholds Sarasota's Deal With Orioles
It took over half a year, but Sarasota County prevailed in the lawsuit that was filed against them in December by a pair of citizens groups. Citizens for Sunshine and Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government had jointly filed suit in Sarasota Circuit Court believing open meeting and public records laws were violated during Sarasota's pursuit of a spring training tenant to replace the Cincinnati Reds. On July 8, Circuit Judge Bob Bennett disagreed. "There was clearly no attempt to subvert the law by avoiding public debate," wrote the judge in his 16-page ruling, which was issued six days after he concluded listening to a week of testimony in a Venice, FL courtroom. Last July, the Baltimore Orioles agreed to move to Sarasota from Fort Lauderdale in a deal that was contingent upon $31.2 million worth of renovations being completed at Ed Smith Stadium and the 11-mile away complex at Twin Lakes Park, where the Orioles' minor leaguers have been training since 1991. Renovations at both sites were to begin in April, but the litigation forced a two-month delay as the county culled funds "from a variety of different sources" to fund the project that could not be bonded out as planned. Bennett's ruling means that Sarasota can now legally issue the bonds required to pay for the renovations, assuming the plaintiffs do not appeal the judge's decision. Regardless, Ed Smith Stadium is on schedule to be significantly rebuilt by mid-February, but the legal wranglings and their associated delays mean its scoreboard, lighting and player clubhouses will stay as is until the following spring.

Citizens Groups File Lawsuit Over Sarasota's Deal With Orioles
Scheduled renovations to Sarasota's Ed Smith Stadium are on hold, pending the resolution of a lawsuit filed in Sarasota Circuit Court against the city and county over their issuance of $26.2 million in construction bonds. As reported in the January 11th Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "While the lawsuit may not derail the Orioles' plans to make Sarasota their spring training home, it may mean the Orioles have to play in the existing Ed Smith Stadium for more than one year." The two citizens groups behind the lawsuit say open meeting and public records laws were violated during Sarasota's pursuit of a spring training tenant to replace the Reds. Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government and Citizens for Sunshine are also challenging the financing plan for stadium renovations, which are to be funded by a $7.5 million city bond and an $18.7 million county bond. Work on Ed Smith Stadium was to have begun shortly after the Orioles concluded their first season of training in the ballpark on April 3.

2009 Spring Training News Archives
To Dine For: Ranking the Ballparks Based on the Food They Offer
In 2009, Peoria and Lakeland topped our list by having the best ballpark concessions fare in their respective leagues. Which other ballparks also did a good job at satisfying appetites? See the rankings and explanations for all 26.

D-backs and White Sox to Give 50K to Pima County Instead of Playing Charity Game
Not a lot of people know this, but a game, usually the first of the spring, in a handful of (mostly Arizona) ballparks is designated as a charity game, with the proceeds from it given back to the community. An example of such a game in 2010 is the Padres-Mariners match-up at the Peoria Sports Complex on March 4. In years past, Tucson Electric Park's two tenants played a charity game, but with the White Sox having bolted for Glendale last year the contractually obligated game won't be played this year. Instead, the Arizona Daily Star reported on January 1 that the Diamondbacks and White Sox plan to give Pima County $50,000 (combined, not each) to make up for the lost charity proceeds. Tucson is the county seat of Pima County and had been the spring training base of the White Sox from 1998 to 2008, while the hometown D-backs are in their final season of training in "The Old Pueblo."

Cubs and White Sox to Play Spring Training Set in Vegas
Sin City's annual "Big League Weekend" will feature two rivals from the Windy City, as Chicago's Cubs and White Sox will play a pair of games in Las Vegas on March 12 and 13 at Cashman Field. The pairing is a rematch of a mini series played last year, when the White Sox won both games before overflow crowds at the 9,334-seat home of the Las Vegas 51s. The two games in 2010 will take place on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon, but just like last year each team will bring only half of their squad, with the other half remaining in Arizona to play regularly scheduled Cactus League games. For the Cubs, their Big League Weekend appearance will mark the sixth straight year they have played a spring training game in Las Vegas, and ninth overall. Their first visit to the desert came in 1993, when they played the White Sox at the end of spring training in a game that drew 15,025 fans, which is still the Cashman Field attendance record. In 2009, the two teams drew 11,459 and 11,174 to midweek games played on March 4 and 5. The actual "Big League Weekend" games were between the Mariners and Rockies on April 3 and 4.

A's Approached By Developer; Phoenix Vows to Keep Team
Following an overture to the Oakland A's by developer Marty DeRito, who has land to spare near the Salt River Reservation in Scottsdale, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon "is digging in to protect the city's turf," reported the The Arizona Republic on September 5. The Athletics' lease at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the Cactus League's oldest ballpark, expires in 2011 and the mayor said that the city plans to discuss a new or refurbished stadium with the team to keep them in Phoenix, where they've trained since 1982. "The Oakland A's aren't moving," said Gordon. Strong words indeed, but that remains to be seen.

Orioles Depart Fort Lauderdale for Sarasota
The Orioles' 14-year stay in Fort Lauderdale officially ended on July 22 when Sarasota's county commissioners approved a $31.2 million deal to bring the team back to where they trained in 1991 and from 1993 to 1995. The Orioles signed a 30-year lease to replace the Cincinnati Reds at Ed Smith Stadium, which will undergo a county-funded overhaul following the 2010 spring season to bring the 20-year old ballpark up to modern, amenity-laden standards. The Orioles departure from Fort Lauderdale Stadium, which opened in 1962 and had been used continuously ever since, ends that's city long history as a spring training host and reduced the number of teams training on Florida's East Coast to four (Cardinals, Marlins, Mets and Nationals).

The Worst Draw In Spring Training Is...
The Houston Astros at Osceola County Stadium, who drew a record 62,326 fans in 2009 for 19 games, giving them an average draw of 3,666, the lowest in the Grapefruit League. The league average was 6,030. The stadium in which the Astros train has just 5,300 seats. The Astros get 75 percent of the ticket revenue. Ditto for concessions and parking revenue. Ticket sales did top $1 million for the first time in the ballpark's 25-year history, while concessions were flat and parking was "down a few thousand," according to facility manager Pete Rodriguez and the Osceola News Gazette.

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Graham Knight spent most of spring training in 2009 at a ballpark, compiling the guides written for this Web site. He visited all 26 ballparks, starting in Goodyear on February 25 and finishing in Fort Myers on April 4. If that doesn't make him an expert, then maybe his eight previous trips to either the Cactus or Grapefruit League do. As for his News & Views, the news is, of course, the news, but any interpretations of the facts it contains are strictly based upon his experiences and opinions.

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