Time with the trophy
Houston Astros bring World Series prize to Palm Beach County.
The Houston Astros brought the spoils of victory to Palm Beach County on Tuesday.
The World Series trophy was on display during the County Commission meeting. Fans will have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the trophy during the Astros’ spring training opening day on Feb. 23 in West Palm Beach, team officials said.
Giles Kibby, a representative of the Astros, said he presented a mock magazine cover with the Astros winning the 2017 World Series championship when pitching a new spring training stadium.
At that time, the Astros were one of the worst teams in baseball. “I was trying to convince you guys we could do it and here we are with the trophy,” he said.
The commission played an important role in approving the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the team’s 6,500-seat spring training stadium built on a former landfill near the intersection of 45th Street and Military Trail.
The Astros played its first game in the complex on Feb. 28, 2017. It shares the ballpark with the Washington Nationals.
Taxes paid by tourists staying in Palm Beach County hotels are funding about half of the roughly $150 million sports complex, which includes a stadium, practice fields and clubhouses for the teams.
The state and the teams picked up the rest of the cost.
Officially known as “the commissioner’s trophy,” the initial World Series trophy was first presented in 1967 to the St. Louis Cardinals.