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Atlanta Braves: New Spring Training Facility in 2018?

By Matthew Schoettler

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The Atlanta Braves’ current Spring Training facility is located at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, but could their days at the complex be numbered?

Recent news broke that the Atlanta Braves are looking to move their Spring Training facilities out of Kissimmee, Florida. ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex has been the home of the Braves’ Spring Training camp since 1998 and holds roughly 9,500 fans. A unique perk to the park is that the facility offers lawn seats in left field; however, the Atlanta Braves seem discontent with staying.

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The Atlanta Braves have one year remaining at the Wide World of Sports complex, fueling speculation that the club is, indeed, looking for a change of scenery. One location that seems to be the front-runner for the new complex is Pinellas County’s Toytown landfill. Noteworthy, the landfill has superb access to the interstate (I-275) and is a short 15 mile drive from the Tampa International Airport.

If the Atlanta Braves pursue this option, they would team with former Braves’ outfielder Gary Sheffield, along with St. Petersburg developer Darryl LeClair, to bring this plot of land back to life. The Toytown landfill has been closed since 1983. However, as of July 1, 2015, Pinellas County issued a RFN (request for negotiations) to sell or lease the plot of land, spanning 240 acres. Pinellas County received three responses about the land, one being from the Atlanta Braves. 

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Supposedly, the Braves would like to purchase the land for $20 million, but the club would pay $500,000 per year over 40 years. It has also been suggested that the Atlanta Braves would consider teaming with another MLB team at the Toytown location. The development of the Toytown would bear a similar resemblance to the Wide World of Sports Complex.

It is believed that the new complex would house a 10,000 seat baseball stadium; moreover, the baseball stadium would have a similar lawn section that could hold an additional 1,000 fans. In addition to the baseball stadium, the complex would have a sport field-house, capable of seating 15,000 fans, and the complex would also have an aquatic center that would contain an olympic-sized pool as well as a hockey rink.

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The new complex also has the idea to include a 200,000 square foot dormitory that could sleep up to 800 people. The project, headed by SportsPark Partners LLC, would cost an estimated $662 million, and the group envisions both professional and amateur uses for the complex. SportsPark projects that the construction of the new complex could generate over 3,300 new jobs in the area.

Another reason for the Atlanta Braves wanting to me is that only 1 team, the Detroit Tigers, is in the near vicinity of Kissimmee, leading to more traveling for the club in the Spring. If they were to move, it would place them closer to other Grapefruit League teams.

John Schuerholz anticipates that the construction process will begin in 2016 and could be finished as early as 2018; however, one question arises from the situation, where will the Atlanta Braves hold their Spring Training in 2017? Perhaps the team signs a one-year deal with ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, but that remains to be seen. One thing that is for sure, the Braves want a new, more accessible facility.

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