Charlotte Sports Park
Spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte.
Charlotte Sports Park is a baseball stadium in Port Charlotte, Florida, originally built in 1987. It serves as the spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays and hosts their Rookie-class Florida Complex League teams. The stadium also housed the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 2009 to 2020.
Quick Facts
- Location
- 2300 El Jobean Road; Port Charlotte, FL 33948
- Groundbreaking
- July 20, 1986
- Opened
- March 6, 1987
- Renovated
- 2008–09
- Owner
- Charlotte County
- Surface
- Grass
- Architect
- Populous
- Structural engineer
- Bliss & Nyitray, Inc (renovation)
Facts from the source article.
Stadium features
The stadium includes a playground, a boardwalk from foul pole to foul pole, two grass berms for general seating, and a tiki bar. Four air conditioned suites and a team store are on the second floor. The third floor houses a 17-seat press box, media dining center, PA booth, camera well, and four broadcast booths. The complex has five full practice fields, a half field for infield drills, and indoor batting cages. In March 2014, USA Today and 10Best readers named it the #1 spring training destination.
History
In spring 1993, Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan announced his retirement from the clubhouse. During 1994 Spring Training, the Rangers hosted the Chicago White Sox featuring basketball star Michael Jordan, drawing a record crowd. In 2000, Alex Rodriguez held a press conference at the stadium after signing a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Rangers; the press conference was held on the roof of the Rangers' dugout because the stadium could not accommodate the number of reporters. The Rangers left two years later. The Rays opened Spring Training at the renovated stadium on February 14, 2009, lost their first game to the Cincinnati Reds 7–0 on February 25, and won their first home game 12–4 against the Boston Red Sox on February 27. On February 3, 2010, the Rays announced a naming rights deal with The Mosaic Company, reported to last through 2024, but due to potential conflict-of-interest with Charlotte County and opposition from the county council and residents, the Rays abandoned the deal on February 17. The Rays cancelled 2023 spring training at Charlotte Sports Park due to damage from Hurricane Ian, moving exhibition games to Tropicana Field; Major League camp mustered at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, then relocated to St. Petersburg, while Minor League camp remained in Orlando. The stadium has hosted non-baseball events including concerts by Kenny Rogers, The Beach Boys, The Little River Band, and Simple Plan.
Retired Number 405
Number 405 is retired at Charlotte Sports Park, the radio number of Sgt. Michael Wilson of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Department, who served for 21 years and was killed responding to a domestic disturbance call on August 5, 2013. On August 13, 2014, the Charlotte Stone Crabs retired the number during a pre-game ceremony, with the Wilson family unveiling a jersey-shaped sign that hangs just inside the Home Plate gate.
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