Menu
Facilities

Twins looking forward to putting ballpark back ahead of the pack

When the Minnesota Twins christened Hammond Stadium, their spring training park in Fort Myers, Fla., in 1991, other teams began to use it as a model to develop their preseason facilities.

Twenty-one years later, the Twins are playing catch-up with their big league brothers in a dated building with narrow concourses, no computerized point-of-sale system, a tiny team store and the lack of an outfield plaza, a popular feature at newer Grapefruit League ballparks.

To upgrade Hammond Stadium to meet the standards set by other Florida spring training parks, Lee County hired Populous to complete a master plan for the ballpark and the practice fields at the Lee County Sports Complex.

The study should be completed in the next few months. Pending financing at the county level, the Twins could see some improvements to the park over the next two years, said team President Dave St. Peter. The ballpark also is

Hammond Stadium was a model to others; now the 21-year-old is due for improvements.
Photos by: DON MURET / STAFF (2)
home to the Fort Myers Miracle, a Twins farm team.

The Twins’ wish list includes a bigger focus on retail to expand the team’s brand, a walkway around the 7,500-seat ballpark and a restaurant. The facility also needs a point-of-sale system; without one, buying food and drink is a cash-only proposition.

The Twins play to mostly sellout crowds and there is demand to build 1,000 to 2,000 more seats, St. Peter said. In addition, Twins fans have asked the club to provide more shaded spaces, a premium amenity in Florida.

Twins officials have seen JetBlue Park, the Boston Red Sox’s new facility down the road in Fort Myers, and have spent a lot of time looking at Bright House Field in Clearwater, spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

They have also toured Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and Camelback Ranch, the two newest Cactus League facilities in Arizona.

“There are bits and pieces out of all of those that we would like to incorporate here,” St. Peter said. Player development “used to be the driver of spring training, and now I think revenue tends to be the driver. Our goal is to have a very balanced approach.”

The $40 million renovation of Ed Smith Stadium and its baseball complex in Sarasota, spring home of the Baltimore Orioles, is the project most similar to what the Twins are pursuing, St. Peter said. Ed Smith opened in 1989, two years before Hammond Stadium opened its doors.

The Twins paid close attention to how well the Orioles wove their brand into the ballpark, which they moved into two years ago after the Cincinnati Reds relocated to Arizona. “There are some lessons to be learned there,” St. Peter said.

“I think Lee County Sports Complex, in and of itself, is at a little bit better level than where [Ed Smith Stadium] was at when they started, so I would like to think we can take it one step beyond that.”

Populous designed JetBlue Park, and ultimately the Twins would like to see Hammond Stadium renovated to a standard approaching what the Red Sox did with their new building, St. Peter said, keeping in mind cultural differences between the two teams.

“Our fans don’t want a mini-Fenway. They want a place that is uniquely Minnesota and that celebrates the history and tradition of the Twins,” St. Peter said.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/03/26/Facilities/Spring-Training-Twins.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/03/26/Facilities/Spring-Training-Twins.aspx

CLOSE