Taxpayer money covered $46 million of the stadium cost - $21.3 million from Sarasota County, $20 million from the state of Florida and $4.7 million from the city of North Port.
“This will add an amenity for people to enjoy an entire lifetime.” You’ve got the beaches that are pretty close,” he said. More than 4,000 houses have been sold in the development’s first eight neighborhoods, and ambitious long-term plans envision as many as 25,000 homes and as much as 3 million square feet of retail and office space being built over the next few decades.Ĭharles Hines, chairman of the Sarasota County Commission, said he sees the Braves’ facility as “transformational” for the southern part of the county and the “centerpiece” of future development. The complex is part of a 15,000-acre master-planned development called West Villages Florida. The academy building will cost an additional $15 million, ultimately raising the total cost of the complex to $140 million. “It’s a huge component to the future of the Atlanta Braves,” Dunn said. The two-story building will include 60 dormitory-style rooms, classrooms, a theater and a cafeteria. But construction is in the early stages on a second phase of the project: a 47,000-square-foot building that will serve as “Braves Academy,” a place where the organization’s minor-league players will receive training about everything from money management to nutrition to public speaking. A picturesque pond and fountain have been added.Ĭonstruction of the stadium, which has a 20-year naming-rights deal with Sarasota air-conditioning company CoolToday, is complete except for finishing touches to be applied in the coming months. Some 300 palm trees, many of them more than 30 feet tall, have been planted on the grounds.
The 90-acre spring-training complex includes seven practice fields, 11 batting cages, 63 pitching mounds, a spacious clubhouse for the major-league team and all the latest training amenities for major- and minor-league players. There are other similarities between the two stadiums, too: Their field dimensions are largely the same, and CoolToday Park has a group hospitality space at ground level beyond right field that mirrors SunTrust Park’s “Below the Chop.” Highway 41 and about five miles from I-75, coincidentally the same highways that run past SunTrust Park in Cobb County. An image of Hank Aaron swinging a bat is etched into the back of every seat. The Braves’ new spring home, designed in a relaxed coastal style with splashes of blue, yellow and red, has 6,200 green seats, a grassy berm beyond the outfield that can accommodate another 1,800 fans, a 360-degree lower-level concourse with unobstructed views of the field and a “Tomahawk Tiki Bar.” The stadium exudes Braves history, from a display of the franchise’s retired numbers in the entry plaza to giant banners of Braves greats hanging from the walls. » Braves' spring training homes through the years » Freddie Freeman is more to Braves than just numbers » When will SunTrust Park change its name? » Michael Cunningham: Youthful Braves offer potential » Mark Bradley: Ronald Acuna's future in historical context The Braves trained at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Fla., for their first 32 seasons in Atlanta and at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando for the next 22 seasons, including this one. The Braves will hold spring training in North Port next year and, under terms of their lease, another 29 years after that.ĬoolToday Park, built with a mixture of public and private money, will become the Braves’ third spring-training site since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966. Sunday – the Braves’ final spring-training game in Florida this year before they head north for exhibitions at SunTrust Park on Monday and Tuesday and the regular-season opener Thursday in Philadelphia.
The $125 million stadium, under construction since October 2017, will make its debut as the Braves play an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays at 4:05 p.m.
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