Space Coast Stadium

Parking
There are plenty of spaces in the large grass field behind the first base side of the ballpark. They are accessed through the general parking entrance, which is listed as Gate 5, found at the back of the parking lot, which itself is bisected by a palm tree-lined sidewalk that leads to the stadium. There's also a very small paved lot directly behind home plate, but it's reserved for team employees and the handicapped.
 Cost: $5

Stadium Information
Painted in the red, white and blue colors of the Nationals, Space Coast Stadium is comfortable and clean, but relatively plain. Its exterior facade looks like a vinyl sided house and is approached via wide paved paths that lead to a plaza featuring a large Casey at the Bat statue and replica of a Space Shuttle orbiter. The stadium's most notable interior feature is its foul poles, which are covered with memorials to the two space shuttle disasters (Columbia in left, Challenger in right). The tribute is fitting, as the stadium took its name from its proximity to the Kennedy Space Center, the NASA launch facility for which the region is nicknamed. Originally the spring home of the Florida Marlins, Space Coast Stadium served as the final spring training camp of the Montreal Expos, who spent two seasons (2003-04) in Viera before the franchise became the Washington Nationals.

Fast Facts

Practice Fields

Types of Seating
The majority of the ballpark (5,348 seats) is comprised of traditional plastic chair stadium seating. There are six sections of bleachers, three apiece down each outfield line, and a small berm in the outfield.

Notes about the seating

Sections and rows

Tickets

Seats to avoid
No seat is a bad buy but a spot in the berm is. It feels as though it was constructed as an afterthought and fans sitting there have no view of the scoreboard, which is directly behind the berm. Within the grandstand, seats in sections 101-104 and 116-119 face forward, not toward home plate, even though three-quarters of those sections are angled so that they better face the playing field than they otherwise would.

Seats in the shade
Space Coast Stadium has very small roofs on opposite sides of the grandstand that provide the only shade in the ballpark. The top five rows (20-24) in sections 204-206 and 216-218 are the only ones that are covered by the dual aluminum arched roofs. Sit anywhere else, and the only escape from the sun (or rain) will be in the covered concourse behind home plate.

VIP seating
There is a Berm Deck in left field which can be reserved by parties of 25 or more. Price varies upon size of the group and includes an all you can eat buffet. Thanks to the adjacent berm, the deck area can accommodate groups of up to 400 people. The stadium has 14 suites, seven on either side of the press box. The suites seat either 12 or 21 people. Two rows of Batter's Box seats are at field level between the dugouts.

Game Day
Gates open 1½ hours (90 minutes) before game time. More than any other ballpark in Florida, wind is a factor in Viera. So it's advisable to bring a windbreaker, especially if you'll be attending a night game.

Food, drink and bag policy

Getting autographs
Narrow walkways next to the dugouts at field level serve as excellent dedicated pre-game autograph alleys where players will sign at their discretion during warm-ups. After the game, fans of the visiting team should head outside the stadium and station themselves along the 5' tall chain link fence that follows the sidewalk that leads players from the visitors' clubhouse beneath the first base grandstand to their waiting bus. The closer you stand to the double glass doors the better, although you don't want to be too close to the doors since they swing open, thereby thwarting attempts by the few fans closest to the clubhouse in their autograph pursuits.

Unique ballpark fare
The stadium is known for its taco in a helmet: ground beef with all the fixings (including salsa) in a Nationals helmet. But for reasons unknown this most creative of cuisine choices is only available during regular season minor league games, not the big league games during spring training. Instead, the concession stand behind the third base grandstand sells a taco salad. Other items of interest include a grilled chicken Caesar salad, chicken stix (teriyaki and mojo chicken skewers) and "baskets" of ballpark favorites that include fries for one low (by ballpark standards) price. A decent selection of beer is found on tap. Bud and Bud Light are the featured drafts, but two of Hawaii-based Kona Brewing's offerings (Fire Rock Pale Ale and Longboard Island Lager) are found at carts on the concourse. Coca-Cola controls the soft drink market.

2012 Nationals Spring Training Schedule (only home games at Space Coast Stadium are listed)
March	Day	Time	Visiting Team	TicketsNow
2	Friday	12:00	Georgetown	Tickets
4	Sunday	1:05	Astros	Tickets
7	Wednesday	1:05	Cardinals	Tickets
8	Thursday	1:05	Astros	Tickets
10	Saturday	1:05	Mets	Tickets
12	Monday	1:05	Cardinals	Tickets
13	Tuesday	6:05	Tigers	Tickets
15	Thursday	1:05	Yankees	Tickets
17	Saturday	1:05	Marlins	Tickets
18	Sunday	1:05	Tigers	Tickets
21	Wednesday	1:05	Braves	Tickets
25	Sunday	1:05	Mets	Tickets
26	Monday	1:05	Astros	Tickets
29	Thursday	1:05	Braves	Tickets
30	Friday	6:05	Marlins	Tickets
31	Saturday	1:05	Cardinals	Tickets
* Single game tickets went on sale Saturday, January 28. See the full 2012 Nationals Spring Training schedule

Ballpark Area Info
When it first opened in 1994, Space Coast Stadium was in the middle of undeveloped cow pastures. Some of the land in the nearby vicinity has since been developed and continues to be, but there are plenty of open green spaces around the ballpark. The closest building is Viera High School and much of the county's governmental buildings are located nearby. The closest commercial development is the Avenue Viera, which opened in 2004 about 1.2 miles from the ballpark, and from which the stadium's light towers can be seen.

Travelers' notes

Hotels close to Space Coast Stadium			Become a featured advertiser
Distance	Hotel	Street Address	City/Zip	Phone
2.3 miles	La Quinta Inn	7200 George T. Edwards Dr	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-242-9400
2.5	Holiday Inn	8298 N Wickham Rd	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-255-0077
3.2	The Swiss Inn	3220 S Fiske Blvd	Rockledge, FL 32955	321-631-9445
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Restaurants close to Space Coast Stadium
Distance	Restaurant	Street Address	City/Zip	Phone
0.9 miles	Mash Hoagies Subs	2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-638-0057
1.2	Chili's	6550 Colonnade Ave	Viera, FL 32940	321-639-6881
1.2	Mimi's Cafe	6630 Colonnade Ave	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-638-0404
1.2	Steak 'n Shake	6728 Colonnade Ave	Viera, FL 32940	321-637-9445
1.2	LongHorn Steakhouse	6691 Lake Andrew Dr	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-632-9990
1.4	Panera Bread	2290 Town Center Ave	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-504-7250
1.4	Moe's Southwest Grill	2230 Town Center Ave	Viera, FL 32940	321-433-3540
1.4	The Melting Pot	2230 Town Center Ave	Melbourne, FL 32940	321-433-3040
1.5	Viera Pizza	5470 Murrell Rd	Viera, FL 32940	321-636-7696
1.5	Beef ‘O’ Brady’s	5410 Murrell Rd	Rockledge, FL 32955	321-633-4030
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Airports close to Space Coast Stadium
Distance	Airport		Airport Code
13.3 miles	Melbourne International		MLB
35.7	Orlando International		MCO
66.9	Daytona Beach International		DAB
Places of interest close to Space Coast Stadium
Distance	Place	Street Address	City/Zip	Phone
1.3 miles	Duran Golf Club	7032 Stadium Pkwy	Viera, FL 32940	321-504-7776
10.2	Melbourne Groundhound Park	1100 N Wickham Rd	Melbourne, FL 32935	321-259-9800

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