

Unlike football, basketball, soccer and hockey, baseball game lengths were varied like snowflakes and varied depending on the actions of the players on the field.
2016 GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE MAP FULL
While I would not consider myself to be a full baseball traditionalist, one of the things I enjoyed most about baseball was that it was the only major sport that did not include a clock of any kind. Personally, I fall somewhere along the middle of the spectrum. The rules changes have received a mostly mixed response ranging from fans who believe that baseball traditions should be maintained at all costs, to those fans who see no issues with changing rules on a regular basis. When announcing the rules changes MLB officials noted they were aimed at improving pace of play, action and safety at the MLB level. The changes coming to an MLB Ballpark near you include, banning infield shifts, putting pitchers on a pitch clock and making the bases larger. Ballpark HistoryĬoolToday Park opened as the Braves’ spring-training home in 2019.As Spring Training winds down, and teams begin their final preparations for the 2023 Major League Baseball Season, a lot of attention has been paid to the new rules that are being rolled out in an attempt to speed up the game. The Atlanta Braves have trained at the following sites since the team’s entry in the National League as the Boston Beaneaters: Norfolk, Va. CoolToday Park is a strong addition to the Grapefruit League ballpark lineup. Still, being so busy that you’re generating a traffic jam isn’t the worst problem to have. Being part of a Florida planned development, The Marketplace development features the mandatory Publix grocery store as well as a variety of retailers and restaurants. There is a Disney way of doing business, and a spring-training game at Champion Stadium was a Disney experience, not a Braves experience.ĬoolToday Park is the centerpiece of a larger development in the West Villages that includes a neighborhood shopping center between the ballpark and Tamiami Trail.

Such a comparison really isn’t fair: at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, the Braves were strictly a tenant, with some limited workout facilities and little say over how the ballpark was run for spring training. It is tempting to compare CoolToday Park with Disney’s Champion Stadium, the former spring home of the Braves. It never felt terribly busy during Sunday’s sellout debut. The concourses are wide, allowing for easy access throughout the ballpark. An added bonus to the raised and open concourse: It allows in some breezes sorely needed on a hot day. Once there, the 360-degree concourse provides a lovely view of the surrounding area (Florida is a pretty flat state, so being up a story-plus provides a great perch), perfect for Atlanta Braves spring training. At CoolToday Park, the decision was made to divide the ballpark into separate areas, building up from there and asking patron to walk up to a raised concourse level. Some Florida ballparks, such as the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, deal with this need to build up with plenty of ramps, sloped berms and gradual approaches to a concourse level. Part of this design has to do with the quirks of building in Florida, where you’re never too far off the water line, so the only alternative is to build up. From the south (Fort Myers/Naples), take I-75 north to take I-75 south to exit 191 (North River Road), head west on Tamiami Trail, and then to West Villages Parkway.įeaturing a modern design, CoolToday Park tends to be very vertical from the outside but surprisingly light and airy inside. From the north (Sarasota), take I-75 south to exit 191 (North River Road) and follow it to West Villages Parkway.

41), a major throughway running between the Everglades, through Fort Myers/Naples and north to Bradenton. West Villages Parkway is located directly off Tamiami Trail (Hwy. With the opening of CoolToday Park, the Atlanta Braves reclaimed control of their spring-training operations for the first time since 1997-and in the process created a fan experience that raises the bar for Grapefruit League facilities. You are here: Home › Atlanta Braves Spring Training Atlanta Braves Spring Training
