Spring Training
It's a fantastic time to come to St. Petersburg. It is the perfect location to use as home base to attend the Grapefruit League Games.
Our Tampa Bay Devil Rays play at Progress Energy Park home of Al Lang Field in downtown St. Petersburg. Just north in Clearwater the Philadelphia Phillies play at Bright House Networks Field. The Toronto Blue Jays play at Knology Park in Dunedin, just a 20 - 30 minute drive from St. Pete. The ever popular New York Yankees hold their training at Legends Field across the Howard Franklin Bridge in Tampa. Go about an hour from St. Pete to Lakeland and watch the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant's Stadium.
If you go south across the Skyway Bridge ($1.00 toll) from St. Petersburg you can watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play at McKechnie Field in Bradenton. A little further and you are in Sarasota where the Cincinnati Reds play at Ed Smith Stadium.
None of the Grapefruit League's Spring Training sites is more than an hour drive away.
The popular Boston Red Sox train at City Palms Park and the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium both are located in Ft. Myers, about a 2 hour drive from St. Pete.
Going across the state to Ft. Lauderdale is approximately a 4 hour drive, the Baltimore Orioles play at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. The Florida Marlins play at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter as do the St. Louis Cardinals. Going North up the Atlantic Coast of Florida, the next stop is Port St. Lucie where the New York Mets play at Tradition Field. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at Holman Stadium at Vero Beach. The Washington Nationals hold their training at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.
Only 90 minutes from St. Petersburg, in Mickey Mouse's backyard, the Houston Astros play at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. The Atlanta Braves play at the ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports. The Cleveland Indians play at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.
A total of 18 major league teams make Florida their spring home. I'm excited about hearing the words, "batter up." It is a great time to live in or visit St. Petersburg.
