SAME BALL GAME, NEW FLAVOR
At the new Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, you can sit in a luxury suite while munching on ahi tuna and crab cake sliders.
Don’t feel like driving around for a parking spot? Just pull up, shell out $20 and have the valet take care of it.
When South Florida’s newest spring training stadium opens Tuesday in West Palm Beach, fans can sip craft beer or cocktails, watch the action unfold on a video scoreboard and enjoy a game day experience on par with the regular season, albeit in a cozier and more intimate setting.
The game is still the same— four balls, three strikes, nine innings— but the amenities offered at today’s
spring training complexes are in another world compared with the stadiums of yesteryear, said Graham Knight, who runs the website springtrainingconnection.com.
“Itwas incredibly bare bones,” said Knight, who plans to attend opening day when the Nationals and Astros will face off. “It was mainly just bleachers. There weren’t even seats with arm rests and seat backs.”
And back then, your dining options were peanuts and Cracker Jack— forget about ahi tuna, Knight said.
It cost $150 million to build the spring training complex that will be shared by the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals. Over a 15-month span, crews transformed what used to be a landfill into a baseball oasis near the intersection of 45th Street and Haverhill Road. Adozen practice fields surround the new stadium.
As spring training ballparks have grown in splendor, ticket prices have risen, too. Knight, 41, said he remembers tickets costing about $5 towatch a Boston Red Sox spring training game in the late 1980s in Winter Haven.
Tickets at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches span froma minimum of $15 for a spot on a grassy hill overlooking the field to $65 for a seat behind home plate. Season tickets for all 31games start at $744. Groups of 15 or more can reserve a luxury suite starting at $900.
Parking will run $10. It’ll cost $20 for valet.
Concessions will offer the typical ballpark fare, including burgers, popcorn, shish kebabs, nachos, ice cream and cheese steaks. Expect to pay $5 for a hot dog and $7.50 for a16-ounce beer. Cocktails, wine and a variety of beer will be available— fromlocal craft beer by Boynton Beach’s Due South to popular Texas brew Shiner.
Those concession prices are about on par with what fans pay during the regular season at Marlins Park.
So what sends baseball fans flocking to spring training games, which are essentially exhibition matches with nothing really at stake?
That’s simple. It’s the best chance to get within feet of the game’s biggest stars, said Joe Connor, a sports travel hobbyist who has visited every Major League stadium. The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches has 6,500 seats compared with nearly 37,000 at Marlins Park.
Factoring in how close spectators get to the players, spring training can be a value, Connor said. Marlins Park’s most exclusive seating in the “diamond club”— just 47 feet from home plate— can cost hundreds of dollars.
“What makes spring training unique is the intimacy the fan has with the players and the overall baseball experience,” said Connor, publisher of modernerabaseball.com. “You work on your tan. You get a vacation. You get close to your favorite players, and the optimism is in the air.”
The stadium was designed with that in mind, said Brady Ballard, general manager of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Acon course wraps around the playing field, allowing spectators to always have a glimpse of the action. Fans can look right down on the bullpen and watch pitchers warm up.
“Everybody is within reach of a foul ball,” Ballard said.
At no extra cost, fans can arrive in the morning before the game and watch players work out on the practice field. That’s the best time to score an autograph, Connor said.
Other tips offered by spring-training regulars:
If you are planning on going to only one game, shoot for amatchup later in spring training when stars are likely to get more playing time. Bring sunscreen. You can take one sealed plastic bottle ofwater (20 ounces or less) into the stadium and refill it, which will save you the marked-up cost in the stadium.
Also, Major League Baseball has implemented new security rules, so fans will have to go through metal detectors for springtraining games— just like they do during the regular season.
One other thing fans might want to know: At least 40 percent of the seats at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will be in the shade at all times, Brady said.
If youwant to see more baseball, just head up the road to Jupiter, where the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins train at Roger Dean Stadium. The New York Mets’ spring training home is in Port St. Lucie.
Once spring training is done, the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will host high school baseball tournaments and other events, Brady said.
Making memories is the best part of spring training, Knight said. He still remembers when he was picked out of the crowd to serve as bat boy for his beloved Red Sox more than 20 years ago.
It’s those types of memories that keep Knight coming back year after year.
The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals will face off Tuesday in the first game ever at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. For more information, visit ballparkpalmbeaches.com or call 844-676-2017.