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20 FEBRUARY 15—21, 2017 SPORTS WEEKLY SPORTS WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15—21, 2017 21
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. Suc-cessful businesses know it’s im-portant for their customers tohave easy access to their products.
Access is also the key to thespring training complex calledThe Ballpark of the Palm Beaches,the new springtime home of theHouston Astros and WashingtonNationals.
The Astros, who had calledKissimmee, Fla., home for the last32 springs, wanted to find a newplace because their access tonearby major league teams wasdisappearing.
Once the Cincinnati Reds,Kansas City Royals and Minneso-ta Twins moved from the area,“We looked up and saw that we’dlost our neighbors,” says ReidRyan, the Astros president forbusiness operations. “Every yearour guys were coming out ofspring training worn out from allof the travel” to exhibitionsgames.
The Nationals, who had trainedin Viera, Fla., since 2003, whenthey were still the Montreal Ex-pos, were experiencing the samephenomenon.
After exploring several reloca-tion possibilities, they agreed tomove to Palm Beach County withthe Astros. Now there are fourother teams for them to play thatare located less than an houraway.
“We’ve taken our bus tripsdown from 79 hours (per spring)to about 30 or 40 hours,” says ArtFuccillo, executive vice presidentof Lerner Enterprises, a real es-tate business. Members of theLerner family are the principalowners of the Nationals.
The New York Mets train inPort St. Lucie, 51 miles to thenorth, and the St. Louis Cardinalsand Miami Marlins are in Jupiter,only four exits away on Interstate95.
The only remaining team in theOrlando area is the AtlantaBraves. Last month, they an-nounced their intention to leavethe Wide World of Sports Com-plex at Walt Disney World tomove to a to-be-built complex in
Sarasota County in 2019. Withinan hour’s drive, the Braves willthen have the Pittsburgh Pirates(Bradenton), Baltimore Orioles
(Sarasota), Minnesota Twins andBoston Red Sox (Fort Myers) andTampa Bay Rays (Port Charlotte)to play.
GIVE FANS WHAT THEY WANTSo while major league teams placea high value on having otherteams nearby, a different kind ofaccess was paramount in thedesign of The Ballpark of thePalm Beaches: giving fans accessto players.
“One thing I’m passionateabout is that our players need tomove in front of the fans sothere’s interaction,” Ryan says.“People who come down to springtraining have an expectation thatthey’re going to get to know theminor leaguers and the coachesand get an autograph from a ma-jor league player. We have to givethem that opportunity.”
While the practice areas areopen to the public, this inter-action is especially true in theballpark itself.
Taking a cue from the Astros’former home in Osceola CountyStadium in Kissimmee, players
will walk from the clubhousebeyond left field down the foulline to the third-base dugoutbefore games. This provides greatpotential for fans to mingle withtheir favorite players.
DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIESArchitecture firm HKS designedthe facility in West Palm Beach.HKS also designed CamelbackRanch in Glendale, Ariz., for theChicago White Sox and Los Ange-les Dodgers and Salt River Fieldsnear Scottsdale, Ariz., for theArizona Diamondbacks and Colo-rado Rockies.
Mo Stein, principal at HKS,worked closely with the Astrosand Nationals to determine whatthey wanted in their parts of thecomplex.
“When a team has the chanceto think about the way they wantto work and prepare their players,they sometimes make decisions
that surprise even themselves,”Stein says.
In particular, the two teamsdiffer in the way they allowyounger players to have access tothe more seasoned pros.
While the Nationals minorleaguers will work in differentareas than the veterans, the As-tros seek to “create the concept oforganizational unity,” Ryan says.“We want our younger playersseeing what it takes to be a big-leaguer. We want there to be in-teraction. We think there’s posi-tive influence there.”
FOUR IS GREATER THAN TWOPalm Beach County leaders sawthe immense value in having twoadditional teams train here be-sides the Cardinals and Marlins.
Verdenia Baker, the countyadministrator, estimated that thedirect and indirect economicimpact of building the complex is$232 million when you includeconstruction projects undertakenby private firms in anticipation ofthe arrival of the Astros and Na-tionals.
Baker said businesses in thecounty will see almost $100 mil-lion in spending each spring byfans coming to see the four teams.
She estimates the resultingincrease in state and local taxrevenue from having the two newteams will be about $5.6 million ayear.
Fans coming to see exhibitiongames will have excellent accessto the new complex.
There is bus service, and thosecoming by car will encounteradjusted traffic signals to speedtheir drive. The Mangonia Parkstation for South Florida’s Tri-Rail commuter train is 3 milesfrom the ballpark.
Palm Beach InternationalAirport is 15 minutes from thestadium, and there are non-stopflights there from Washingtonand Houston.
When spring training is over,local residents will be able toaccess the complex’s walkingtrails, soccer fields (currentlyparking lots for exhibition games)and a municipal park that’splanned for the western edge ofthe complex. There’s also roomfor community events such asfairs and arts festivals.
Of course, the most importantelement to the teams is preparingtheir players for the regularseason.
“If what we’ve created contrib-utes to that, then we’ve beenreally successful,” Stein says. “Andby the way, if Bryce Harper orJose Altuve becomes MVP, thatdoesn’t hurt either.”
Mock operates BaseballParks.com, anaffiliate of USA TODAY Sports DigitalProperties. He has visited all 203 parkscurrently used for major league, springtraining and the affiliated minors.
BALLPARK WATCHNationals, Astros, fans will benefit from new venue
PHOTOS BY CRAIG BRISTOW, THE BALLPARK OF THE PALM BEACHES
Above and upper right, workers prepare the field for the inaugural spring training at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, where the Nationals and the Astros will play Grapefruit League games.
An Astros logo stands out on a field just outside covered batting cages at TheBallpark of the Palm Beaches.
The ballpark, designed by the architecture firm HKS, has a ca-pacity of 6,500, a 360-degree concourse, suites and party areas.
Teams: Houston Astrosand Washington Nationals
Where: 5444 HaverhillRoad, West Palm Beach, FL33407
Directions: From Exit 74 ofI-95, go west on 45th Streetfor 1 mile and turn left ontoHaverhill Road. The com-plex will be on your left.From Exit 99 of the FloridaTurnpike, turn left on Okee-chobee Boulevard. Afterthree-fourths of a mile, turnleft on Haverhill Road. Thecomplex will be on yourright after 31⁄2 miles.
Architect: HKSCost to build: $148 millionFirst game: Feb. 28, Astros
vs. Nationals, 1:05 p.m. ETCapacity: 6,500 ticketed
seats plus 1,200 on the lawnInformation/tickets:
844-676-2017; MLB.com/ballparkpalmbeaches
Ticket prices: Vary, basedon opponent. Lawn ticketsfrom $15 to $20; dugout boxseats from $31 to $47. Sea-son tickets for all 30 gameshere range from $744 forinfield boxes to $1,271 forhome-plate boxes.
THE BALLPARK OFTHE PALM BEACHESIN WEST PALM, IT’S ALL ABOUT ACCESS
AL springpreview
AL springpreview
NL springtrainingpreview
NEXT WEEK
$3.00QIJFAF-00007u(K)mON SALE FEBRUARY 15—21, 2017
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THE PRIZEChris Sale feelsBoston’s lure
uSurveying every American League teamuSchedules, rosters, stats, camp infouNew park rises in West Palm Beach
2 FEBRUARY 15—21, 2017 SPORTS WEEKLY
KIM KLEMENT, USA TODAY SPORTS
Pitcher Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays seeka third consecutive playoff berth.
Blue Jays take flightin Grapefruit LeagueUSA TODAY is committed to accuracy. To reach us, contact
Standards Editor Brent Jones at 800-872-7073 or e-mail
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Corrections& clarifications
Volume XV, No. 24 (ISSN 1541-5228)
John Zidich, PublisherDave Morgan, President,
Sports Media GroupDavid Meeks, Managing editor
A USA TODAY publication, Gannett Co.Inc.
Published weekly every Wednesday.Periodicals Postage Paid at McLean, VA,and at additional mailing offices. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to USATODAY Sports Weekly, PO BOX 650301,DALLAS TX 75265-0301. Printed in the USA.USA TODAY SPORTS WEEKLY, its logo andassociated graphics are the trademarks ofGannett Co. Inc. or its affiliates. All rightsreserved. Copyright 2017, USA TODAYSPORTS WEEKLY, a division of Gannett Co.Inc.Basic subscription rate: Mail delivery 52issues for $44.95 (continental USA and
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4Easy Sale: The Boston RedSox landed the prized pitcher ofthe offseason, but Chris Sale hadbeen a longtime admirer.
6Cleveland seeks crown:The Indians just missed a WorldSeries title. In our team report,see how they might be better.uAL rotation rankings, Page 10
13 Spring spotlight:Team-by-team AL look-ins, keyquestions, 40-man rosters, campinformation and schedules.
20West Palm’s park:The Astros and Nationals open aballpark that brings them closerto other teams — and to their fans.
31Mike Ilitch: Late RedWings and Tigers owner putDetroit on the world stage.
32White House stands:Jarrett Bell champions Patriotswho refuse to visit; Mitch Albomsuggests ending the tradition.
SEND US FEEDBACKReach assistant managing editorJosh Barnett or senior editorStephen Borelli [email protected].
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COVER CREDITSChris Sale by Jasen Vinlove, USATODAY Sports. Cory Kluber byRoss D. Franklin, AP.
INSIDE
JASEN VINLOVE, USA TODAY SPORTSChris Sale was huge add for Red Sox.
ROSS D. FRANKLIN, APCarlos Carrasco is key for Indians.
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