The complex will operate year-round with extended training for minor
league teams and a fall instructional league.
An extensive construction plan shows a future town center at
the corner of West Villages Parkway and South Tamiami Trail, a new
school and roads connecting to North River Road.
The Florida Economic Development Council named the stadium
its regional “Deal of the Year,” citing 139 jobs and $1.7 billion it is
slated to bring to Southwest Florida.
The team signed a 30-year lease for the property, with funding
for the more than $100 million project coming from the Braves
organization, Sarasota County, West Villages and the city of North
Port. The city and West Villages both paid $4.7 million, and West
Villages also donated the land. Sarasota County provided $22 million
from tourist development taxes and another $5.6 million in capital
expenditures. The state pulled $20 million from its spring training
retention fund toward the facility.
The Sunday, March 24 game is being packaged along with 2020
spring training tickets, which can be purchased at the Braves Preview
Center in Cornerstone Plaza at 14906 Tamiami Trail, just west of
Sumter Boulevard in North Port. For more information call
(941) 413-5000 or email springtraining@braves.com.
G
M
24GASPARILLA ISLAND January/February 2019
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