Quote:
Originally Posted by calculoso
|
This sounds awesome. I have been to Florida three times for Spring Training, 2013, 2015 and 2017. I went to the Jays stadium the first year and haven't bothered to go back. It is an absolute dump compared to every other park I've been to down there.
I am going back for spring 2019 and hopefully they have this done by then and I will then be sure to go and check it out.
Spring Training ball is best when watched with a beer in hand at a bar in the park, or on a grass berm dozing off from the many beers you have consumed, or overlooking a bullpen or another area where you can watch the players prep or just sit there and chat.
For comparison, I have been to (ranked by my personal tastes):
1. Bradenton (Pirates) - best all around experience
2. Port Charlotte (Rays) - newer and very similar to the Pirates stadium, also the park I stay closest too, so I may be biased
3. Clearwater (Phillies) - another older stadium but classic, best food selection of the ones I have been too, probably the best beer selection too
4. Sarasota (Orioles) - Nicest stadium, just beautiful. The public area in the outfield is behind expensive seats with tables and service, expensive all around, food/beer and tickets and also can't walk around entire stadium so loses points for that, but just absolutely beautiful
5. Fort Myers (Red Sox) - mini-Fenway. This may rank higher after I go here again. It was unseasonably cold, I'm talking 10 or 12 Celsius for a night game (it actually dropped to 5 degrees the one morning when we were golfing that year) we weren't in a party mood. Stadium is nice, but is blue instead of green (named JetBlue Park) which is offsetting.
6. Fort Myers (Twins) - older stadium, seemed a little crowded, can;t walk around the entire stadium and almost all seating, no standing room or berms, but good food and beer and inexpensive all around.
7. Dunedin (Jays) - Everything I have said bad about a stadium applies here. Expensive, almost no standing area, no berm, can't go past mid outfield on either side. Just brutal compared to the other 6 I have been to.
I have not been to any of the stadiums that aren't on the west coast of Florida and I haven't been to Legends Field (Yankees) yet in Tampa.