The Astros and Nationals yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for their shared Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach, a venue "expected to open" in '17, according to Evan Drellich of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The new ballpark is to hold "more than 6,400 fans, with another 1,250 potentially able [to] watch from the berm." The two teams will "share the one main yard, with separate training and front-office facilities on a roughly 160-acre property" (CHRON.com, 11/9). In West Palm Beach, Joe Capozzi in a front-page piece notes the teams yesterday "put on quite a show" as they "invited more than 100 local leaders" to the ceremony for the complex. The project was approved with a budget of $135M, "paid for by a combination of money from the teams, revenue from a county hotel tax and economic incentive money from the state." But the budget "already has gone up" to $144M. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the complex "will help preserve the Grapefruit League." Manfred: "One of the things we particularly like about spring training in Florida is that we have a west coast branch and an east coast branch. This project was really crucial for maintaining that east coast branch." Capozzi notes the teams "face a tight deadline" to open by '17 (PALM BEACH POST, 11/10). MLB.com's Richard Justice notes once the two teams move into the complex, Florida's east coast "will have five teams -- Mets, Marlins, Cardinals, Astros, Nationals -- a relatively short drive from one another." Nationals President of Baseball Operations & GM Mike Rizzo: "That's huge. Where we are now, our shortest drive is 75 minutes. That's not the best use of time. That's also not how fans want to be spending their time." Astros Owner Jim Crane: "If you've got a two-hour bus ride to start the day, that's four hours your players aren't using to prepare for the season" (MLB.com, 11/9).
