West Villages Improvement District: Atlanta Braves stadium in North Port nearing completion

Nicole Rodriquez, staff writer
Palm Beach Register, March 1, 2019

Site will host first — and only — Grapefruit League game of 2019 on March 24

SARASOTA COUNTY — With spring training in full swing, construction of the Atlanta Braves’ baseball stadium in south Sarasota County has rounded third base and is bound for home.

Construction on the $140 million spring home of the Braves, in the city of North Port’s West Villages development, is more than 90 percent complete, county officials said Thursday at a joint meeting of the Sarasota County and Charlotte County commissions. The public plaza, installation of food services equipment and the remainder of ceiling and lighting are nearly done, while landscaping is complete, county officials said. In December, the team estimated the stadium was 75 percent complete.

The stadium, named CoolToday Park, will boast 6,500 fixed seats, with berm, sun deck and group-area seating boosting total capacity to roughly 8,200. Since the October 2017 groundbreaking, about 350 workers each day have labored to have the stadium ready for its first and only spring game of 2019, a March 24 Braves exhibition contest against the Tampa Bay Rays. Before the Braves make the move to North Port for the March game, the team will train at its usual venue at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, then end its 22-year run at the Disney World complex.

More than 25 Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte county subcontracting companies have been used on the project.

“The Braves have been great partners with us,” said Carolyn Eastwood, Sarasota County’s director of capital projects. “They have utilized local talent on this project to the greatest extent possible.”

The park, built with a combination of funding from the Braves, North Port, Sarasota County and the state, will also feature a full-view 360-degree concourse, field-level suite, full-service VIP seating opportunities, elevated outfield seating and covered terrace clubs, band area and outfield tiki bar that will seat 65. The stadium will also be used year-round, with a January fantasy camp to be followed by spring training, extended spring training, Gulf Coast League baseball and an instructional league. The overall facility will include 6½ practice fields, 55,000 square feet of clubhouse and a fitness center for the Braves along with multipurpose fields and public space that can be used for special events by North Port and Sarasota County.

“This really isn’t just a spring training facility,” Saraosta County Commission Chairman Charles Hines said. “It is a year-round type of facility for our region ... there’s more than just baseball.”

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate