Play Ball: Spring Training Games Begin Friday In Tampa Bay

CLEARWATER, FL — Both baseball fans and Pinellas County businesses that depend on the additional dollars generated by spring training are celebrating this week following the end of the Major League Baseball's 99-day lockout.

On Thursday, players and owners resolved their battle over bucks and agreed to end the lockout that threatened to cancel regular-season games for the first time since 1995.

The players’ executive board approved a five-year contract at about 3 p.m. Thursday in a 28-12 vote. Owners ratified the deal 30-0 three hours later, and the lockout was lifted at 7 p.m.

The lockout has delayed the start of spring training for the Grapefruit League in Florida where businesses have come to depend on the income generated by out-of-state baseball fans who make the yearly pilgrimage to Florida for spring training games.

For the past two years, the typical $55 million in revenues generated by spring break in Tampa Bay, including Dunedin, spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays; Clearwater, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies; and Tampa, where the New York Yankees train, have fallen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This year's lockout threatened a further loss in revenue for local hotels, restaurants and shops that count on baseball fans who come to Florida for spring training games.

A 2018 economic impact study by the Florida Sports Foundation estimated that spring training games in Florida have a $687 million economic impact on the state and create 7,152 jobs.

Prior to the pandemic in 2019, more than 1.4 million fans attended spring training games in Florida.

A key finding of the survey showed that, of the average total of 6,318 fans per game, 70 percent were from outside the host teams' local markets with 52 percent from out of state.

The fans alone generated nearly $584 million in economic impact.

It's due this impact that spring training cities and counties have invested millions of dollars in removations to spring traing facilities over the past decade.

The Toronto Blue Jays have been spring training in Dunedin since the ball club was founded in 1977.

But the old Dunedin Stadium (originally called Grant Field), with only 5,500 seats, no longer met the ballclub's needs, and the team was threatening to pull out of Dunedin.

To keep the Bluejays in Dunedin, the city signed a 25-year partnership agreement in which it agreed to spend more than $102 million in renovations, the largest construction project in the city's history.

The bulk of funding for the project came from Pinellas County tourist development tax money (about $42 million). The state kicked in another $14 million from a state fund designated for keeping Grapefruit League teams in Florida, the city of Dunedin contributed $5.66 million and the ball club invested more than $20 million.

The funds included a complete renovation and expansion of the existing TD Ballpark at 373 Douglas Ave., increasing the seating to 8,500.

Additionally, the funds went to the construction of a state-of-the-art, 115,000-square-foot Player Development Complex at 1700 Solon Ave., Dunedin.

The Phillies have been a spring training fixture in Clearwater since 1947, and Clearwater has invested millions of dollars in the team's spring training facilities for 75 years.

The team originally used Carpenter Field until Jack Russell Stadium, at 800 Phillies Drive in Clearwater, was built in 1955. The stadium, now used for high school and college baseball and softball, was originally built with a 4,744 seating capacity and later expanded to 6,942 seats.

When the Phillies outgrew Jack Russell Stadium, the city agreed to build Spectrum Stadium, now called Baycare Ballpark, at 601 Old Coachman Road. The Phillies have been hosting spring training at Baycare Ballpark since 2003.

In 2019, the Phillies and the Clearwater City Council signed a 20-year contract to keep the Phillies in Clearwater in which they agreed to spend $79.9 million to upgrade both the ball park and the adjacent Carpenter Complex training facility. The Phillies kicking in $10 million, the city $16 million, $40 million from Pinellas Tourist Development Council funds and $13.7 million from the state's Grapefruit League fund.

The city's portion of the funding came from $10 million in Penny for Pinellas funds and $6 million that was diverted from the Sand Key Bridge replacement project.

Improvements to BayCare Ballpark, 601 Coachman Road, which seats 8,500, included a renovated club level, new seating, expanded offices and upgraded air conditioning.

The Carpenter Complex renovations included an expanded clubhouse, a 160-bed dorm, more office space and new dining facilities.

This year marks the 27th spring training season for the Yankees in Tampa.

Built in 1996, the Yankees' spring training field, George M. Steinbrenner Field, is a 31-acre complex centrally located at 1 Steinbrenner Drive near Raymond James Stadium.

During the 2016-2017 off-season, Steinbrenner Field underwent a $40 million renovation adding new stadium seating, a more convenient main entrance and more than 5,000 square feet of retail space. Six major ballpark enhancements were also added including shade screens, premium spaces and group party areas.

After investing all these funds in spring training facilities, officials for all three cities said they were relieved to learn the players and owners had reached an agreement.

"We're looking forward to spring training starting up," Mayor Frank Hibbard said, noting that the Phillies sent an invitation to the city council to attend opening day ceremonies Saturday.

Spring training officially starts Friday and opening day for Major League Baseball is set for April 7.

Opening day for Major League Baseball is set for April 7. Regular season games originally scheduled for March 31 through April 6 will be rescheduled soon.

The Bluejays will open spring training against the Phillies Saturday, March 19 at 1:05 p.m. See the Bluejays' spring training schedule here.

The Phillies will kick off spring training Friday, March 18, in a game against the Tigers. See the Phillies' spring training schedule here.

The Yankees will have their first spring training game against the Pirates Friday, March 18, at a time to be announced. See the Yankees' spring training schedule here.