Mets Spring Training
| 2010 First Practice Dates |
Pitchers & Catchers: February 20Position Players: February 25 |
| Recent Attendance |
| Year | Total | Average |
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 | 87,091 87,322 99,988 91,933 83,061 83,822 84,739 | 4,838 4,851 5,882 5,723 5,191 5,588 4,708 |
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Spring Training Info
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| New York Mets Spring Training |
Area Info - Port St. Lucie |
Digital Domain Park Spring Training home of the Mets since 1988Ballpark address: 525 NW Peacock Boulevard Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 Opened: 1988 Capacity: 7,000 Send this page to a friend
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Location
Digital Domain Park is found on what is known locally as Florida's Treasure Coast, just a couple miles from I-95, and past some bustling strip shopping centers. The last commercial development prior to reaching the ballpark is a QVC call center and the University Park office building, while the South County Regional Football/Soccer Stadium is across the street.
Directions
Take I-95 to Exit 121 (St. Lucie West Blvd.) and go east for almost a half mile to the first traffic light. Turn left at the light onto NW Peacock Boulevard and the stadium is about a mile away on your right.
Parking
There is a large paved/grass lot that surrounds the front of the stadium. The paved section is closest to the stadium but most fans park in the large grass field behind it. Unlike most grass fields used for parking, this one has light towers so you can find your car after night games.
Cost: $5
Stadium Information
Digital Domain Park was a gift to the city of Port St. Lucie by its original namesake, local developer Thomas J. White. The covered plaza in front of the stadium is still named in his honor, but Thomas J. White Stadium was renamed in 2004 after the developer of the master-planned community of Tradition decided to pony up $150,000 annually for 10 years. The naming rights deal was needed to help offset some of the $8.7 million spent on additions and renovations that were completed prior to the 2004 spring training season. Chief among them was building a berm in right field and a party terrace down the third base line, which is home to the popular Island Girl Tiki Bar. The stadium has a 9/11 memorial sculpture in front of it that includes a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. Memorials to three deceased team employees are behind the Twin Towers statue. Inside the stadium, a mural of great players and moments in Mets history is on the facade of the press box. As for the name Tradition Field, it ceased to exist when Core Communities defaulted on their payments to maintain the name and on March 23, 2010 the ballpark received a new one, with the honor going to Digital Domain Holdings, a visual effects production studio, who will pay $75,000 for the privilege in 2010, $90,000 in 2011, $100,000 in 2012, and an escalating amount after that through 2018 to be determined by the Consumer Price Index.
Fast Facts
Fans enter the ballpark depending on where they sit. Those with bleacher and berm tickets enter through a separate gate (C) down the right field line. Everyone else uses one of the two gates behind home plate (A & B), from which ramps take them from street level to the grandstand one story above on concourse level.
Ticket windows are under the blue and white canopy directly behind home plate, a location that is equidistant between gates A and B.
The concourse is located behind the stadium. It's fairly narrow but completely covered.
The bullpens are in foul territory. Fans can sit directly behind the Mets bullpen down the left field line. The visitors bullpen is in front of the bleachers down the right field line but is not as fan accessible.
The stadium has one scoreboard. It's a big one in left-center field that includes a video panel.
The main Mets team shop, called FanGear, is next to the ticket office at street level. Across the way is a merchandise trailer. Both have a better selection of souvenirs and gifts than the small shop that's on the concourse level behind home plate.
Practice Fields
The Mets' Minor League complex is located on site, behind left field. The gates to the practice fields open each morning at 9:30. On days when the Mets are playing at Digital Domain Park, the back fields are closed to fans 30 minutes before the stadium's gates open.
Types of Seating
Fans have their choice between seats with chair backs and armrests, bleachers or the lawn.
Stadium seats: All 100 and 200 level sections.
Bleachers: Down the right field line.
Berm: A sizable hill in right field.
Notes about the seating
The Mets dugout is on the third base side. To make sure you're on the home side of the stadium, buy your tickets in any even-numbered section.
An aisle divides the stadium's main grandstand into two sections. Lower reserved seats are below the aisle, upper reserved seats are above it.
Sections 114-124 comprise the field level terrace seats, named after the party terrace directly behind them.
All seats in the grandstand have cup holders.
If you buy a seat in the berm or bleachers you're stuck there. They have an entrance separate from the rest of the stadium that doesn't allow access to the grandstand. Likewise, fans in the grandstand can't visit the berm.
The bleachers do not have seat backs.
Lawn chairs are allowed in the berm.
The bleachers and berm have their own concession stand and bathrooms.
Handicap accessible seating is found above sections 102-103, 106-107 and 110-111 in row K, which is comprised of wheelchair spaces and companion seats.
The protective screen behind home plate extends from sections 101-105.
Plenty of picnic tables are on the plaza behind the bleachers.
Standing room is limited to the berm and party terrace area.
Sections and rows
Rows for sections with stadium seats range as follows:
AA to CC then A to K in sections 101-105; D to K in sections 106-109; A to J in sections 110-111; A to K in sections 112-113; A to C in sections 114, 116, 118, 120, 122; A to B in section 124; L to X in sections 201-205; L to Y in sections 206-213
Row I is skipped in all sections and there are no sections 115, 117, 119, 121 or 123.
The bleachers standing down the right field line don't have section or row numbers. Each unmarked section has 15 rows. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tickets
Sections 101-113 are sold as Lower Reserved.
The first 3 rows of sections 101-105 are sold as Premium Box.
Sections 114-124 are sold as Terrace.
Sections 201-213 are sold as Upper Reserved.
The unmarked bleacher sections down the right field line are sold as Bleachers.
Space on the right field lawn is sold as Berm.
Children ages 2 and under do not require a ticket when accompanied by an adult.
Seats to avoid
Camera platforms partially obstruct the views of a small handful of Upper Reserved seats:
In sections 208 and 209: seats 23-27 in row Y.
In section 210: seat 7 in row W, seats 7-9 in row X, and seats 7-10 in row Y.
In section 211: seat 7 in row W, seats 7-9 in row X, and seats 7-9 in row Y.
Seats in section 124 are rather far away from home plate.
Seats in the shade
The roof is a big ugly one that flairs upwards but serves its purpose quite well, casting shade upon all fans in sections 201-207 and most fans in sections 101-107. Technically, the odd-numbered sections (101, 103, 105, 107) are shaded when the game starts, with the even-numbered sections (102, 104, 106) enjoying full shade by 2:15 (during Daylight Saving Time). Umbrella canopies protect fans from the sun in the picnic decks found above the berm and on the party terrace.
VIP seating
Closest to the playing field are three rows (AA-CC) of Premium Box seats between the dugouts. Three tiers of metal picnic table seating is available for groups on the party terrace. The two-story press box structure has a mix of open air and traditional suites.
Game Day
All ballpark gates open two hours before game time.
Food, drink and bag policy
Food is not allowed to be brought into the stadium. Sealed plastic bottles of water are.
Bags are allowed up to a maximum size of 16" x 16" x 8".
Getting autographs
The best pregame spot is section 122, which is directly behind the Mets bullpen. Opportunities depend on how willing the relief pitchers are to sign, but accessibility is much better there than the Mets' dugout, where a player will occasionally sign for fans gathered in section 110. Autographs from visiting players are much harder to come by, especially since their bullpen is cut off from the main grandstand. Tunnels to the clubhouses for both teams are in their dugouts, so there's not much chance of getting an autograph inside the stadium following the game.
Unique ballpark fare
Nathan's hot dogs are served throughout the ballpark. So are knishes. Specialty stands in 2009 served up such treats as the taco in a helmet, crêpes and cheese steaks (not the Philly kind - these had cheese poured on top). Bud, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra are readily available on draft, with Land Shark and Yuengling found on tap on the third base side of the park. Fountain drink service comes from Pepsi.
Ballpark Area Info
Just like the ballparks in Arizona that have spurred surrounding development following their construction, Digital Domain Park has transformed a once secluded patch of real estate into a destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Chain restaurants, hotels and a bowling alley have all sprung up in recent years just south of the stadium, which is close to the PGA Village and its three championship golf courses. The town of Tradition, the master-planned Port St. Lucie community for which the ballpark was named for six years, was established in 2003 and is just a few miles away.
Travelers' notes
The closest Interstate, I-95, is about 2 miles away.
Allow yourself ample time to get to the stadium. Pregame traffic starts backing up early. The culprit is the single turning lane at the intersections of St. Lucie West and Peacock Boulevards, where you have to turn left at the traffic light. That intersection simply was not built to handle the volume of game day traffic, which leads to stop and go delays exiting I-95 the closer it gets to game time.
There are no safety concerns here.
 Restaurants close to Digital Domain Park |
| Distance | Restaurant | Street Address | City/Zip | Phone |
| 0.6 miles | Ruby Tuesday | 1500 NW Courtyard Cir | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-340-2575 |
| 0.6 | Friendly's | 230 NW Peacock Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-871-1977 |
| 0.75 | Outback Steakhouse | 1950 NW Courtyard Cir | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-873-9990 |
| 0.75 | Crispers | 1960 NW Courtyard Cir | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-785-6158 |
| 0.75 | Chili's | 2050 NW Courtyard Cir | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-344-5997 |
| 0.8 | Burger King | 1545 NW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-879-6008 |
| 0.8 | Arby's | 1621 NW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-807-5668 |
| 0.8 | West End Grill | 1680 SW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-343-1146 |
| 0.8 | Camille's Sidewalk Cafe | 1718 SW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-621-8501 |
| 0.8 | Red Ginger Asian Bistro | 1724 SW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-873-6988 |
| 0.8 | KFC | 1641 NW St. Lucie West Blvd | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-873-1585 |
List your restaurant or bar |
 Hotels close to Digital Domain Park |
| Distance | Hotel | Street Address | City/Zip | Phone |
| 0.75 miles | Springhill Suites | 2000 NW Courtyard Cir | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-871-2929 |
| 1.3 | MainStay Suites | 8501 Champions Way | Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 | 772-460-8882 |
| 5.3 | Best Western | 1209 S. Federal Hwy | Stuart, FL 34994 | 772-287-6200 |
| 6.2 | Holiday Inn Express | 7151 Okeechobee Rd | Fort Pierce, FL 34945 | 772-464-5000 |
| 6.3 | Motel 6 | 2500 Peters Rd | Fort Pierce, FL 34945 | 772-461-9937 |
List your hotel |
 Airports close to Digital Domain Park |
| Distance | Airport | Airport Code |
| 11.4 miles | St Lucie County International | FPR |
| 48.4 | Palm Beach International | PBI |
| 55.0 | Melbourne International | MLB |
| 87.9 | Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International | FLL |
| 92.2 | Orlando International | MCO |
| 99.9 | Southwest Florida International (Fort Myers) | RSW |

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