Florida Spring Training 2023

By James | Last updated August 23, 2023

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For the 2023 Spring Training season, 15 teams have made their home at 13 of Florida’s baseball stadiums in Central and Southern Florida.

The snowbirds are not the only people to move down to Florida during the winter.

Since the 1890s, a lot of the major American and National League baseball teams have taken advantage of Florida’s wonderful winter/spring climate and have set up Spring Training camps in Florida each year. This allows the players to train away from the cold and snow of the north and it also allows the managers to check out the talent.

One of the great things about Spring Training is that the ballparks are generally small which means you can get to watch a top ranking baseball team up close and personal. Spring training is also an ideal opportunity to get autographs of your favourite players.

The aptly named Grapefruit League plays in Florida during the months of February and March each Spring and another league, the Cactus League, plays in Arizona

Over time, this has resulted in the Grapefruit League Presented by Camping World and the teams now play each other throughout the month of late February/March. Recently, Arizona has tempted 15 teams out west but attempts by Las Vegas to set up training camps in Nevada have come to nothing. As it now stands, 15 teams train in Florida and another 15 in Arizona with the Cactus League.

2023 Spring Training Season

Like the last few years, only 15 teams are playing in Florida, down from 18 in 2008 and 16 in 2009. The Cleveland Indians (previously playing at Winter Haven), the Los Angeles Dodgers (Vero Beach) and now the Cincinnati Reds (Sarasota) have all moved to Arizona in recent years.

If you are used to paying upwards of $100 to watch a game then you are in for a real treat. Prices vary by stadium but general admission can be less than $10 and box seats are typically between $20 and $30. When the Atlanta Braves used to play at the Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports of Complex, tickets typically cost from $15 to $59.

Champion Field at Disney (now no longer part of regular Spring Training) is one of the largest ballparks with a capacity of 9,500, most of the others are around the 5,500 to 7,500 mark. The largest is JetBlue Park at 11,000.

The first game of the 2023 season is on February 25 and games continue all the way until March 28.

Grapefruit League Baseball Team Training Grounds

A few other teams also take part towards the end of the season playing at a few other ballparks.

If you are staying in the Orlando area, then the nearest ballpark is in Lakeland only a short drive away. Up until 2019 you could watch the Atlanta Braves playing at the Champion Stadium at the Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports of Complex on your doorstep.

On the Gulf Coast, there are seven stadiums within a short drive of Tampa; namely Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte and North Port with two stadiums in Fort Myers to the South.

On the Atlantic Coast, there is Port St Lucie, Jupiter and West Palm Beach.

The full list of stadiums is as follows:

Note that many of the ballparks have changed their names in recent years as a result of various sponsorship deals.

LocationBallparkTeams
BradentonLECOM Park (formerly McKechnie Field)Pittsburgh Pirates
ClearwaterBayCare Ballpark (formerly Spectrum Field)Philadelphia Phillies
DunedinTD Ballpark (formerly Dunedin Stadium)Toronto Blue Jays
Fort MyersHammond Stadium, CenturyLink Sports ComplexMinnesota Twins
Fort MyersJetBlue Park at Fenway SouthBoston Red Sox
JupiterRoger Dean Chevrolet StadiumMiami Marlins & St Louis Cardinals
LakelandPublix Field at Joker Marchant StadiumDetroit Tigers
North PortCoolToday ParkAtlanta Braves
OrlandoESPN Wide World of SportsTampa Bay Rays ‡
Port CharlotteESPN Wide World of Sports/Charlotte Sports ParkTampa Bay Rays ‡
Port St. LucieClover Park (formerly called First Data Field)New York Mets
SarasotaEd Smith StadiumBaltimore Orioles
TampaGeorge M. Steinbrenner FieldNew York Yankees
West Palm BeachBallpark of the Palm BeachesHouston Astros & Washington Nationals

‡ Due to damage caused by Hurricane Ian at the Charlotte Sports Park, the Tampa Bay Rays will play their first Spring Training game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World before returning to their home field.

There is still uncertainty over the fate of the Chain of Lakes Park stadium in Winter Haven after the Cleveland Indians departed in 2008, one possibility is that it could be demolished to make way for a new development. And 2008 was the last year that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played at the Al Lang Field as they moved to the rebuilt ballpark in Charlotte County for 2009.

In 2017 both the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros moved to a new stadium in West Palm Beach, the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. This now leaves the Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Champion Stadium at the Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports of Complex and the Space Coast Stadium in Viera all without a resident Spring Training team.

The Atlanta Braves had been looking to move to a new West Villages, North Port, Sarasota training complex for the 2019 season but in February 2018 they confirmed they would return to the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in 2019 for their final season.

They trained in the Palm Beach area for 35 years before moving to Disney in 1998. One of the main reasons for moving is that there are only two stadiums in the Orlando area and both of them have now lost its team.

The others are grouped mainly on the west Gulf coast from Dunedin down to Fort Myers and Atlantic east coast from Port St Lucie to West Palm Beach.

Grapefruit League Baseball Teams

Below is the list of the Major League baseball teams that play in the Grapefruit League and their “home” grounds:

TeamBallparkLocation
Atlanta BravesCoolToday ParkNorth Port
Baltimore OriolesEd Smith StadiumSarasota
Boston Red SoxJetBlue Park at Fenway SouthFort Myers
Detroit TigersPublix Field at Joker Marchant StadiumLakeland
Houston AstrosFITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm BeachesWest Palm Beach
Miami MarlinsRoger Dean Chevrolet StadiumJupiter
Minnesota TwinsHammond Stadium, CenturyLink Sports ComplexFort Myers
New York MetsClover Park (formerly called First Data Field)Port St. Lucie
New York YankeesGeorge M. Steinbrenner FieldTampa
Philadelphia PhilliesBayCare Ballpark (formerly Spectrum Field)Clearwater
Pittsburgh PiratesLECOM Park (formerly McKechnie Field)Bradenton
St Louis CardinalsRoger Dean Chevrolet StadiumJupiter
Tampa Bay RaysESPN Wide World of Sports/Charlotte Sports ParkOrlando/Port Charlotte
Toronto Blue JaysTD Ballpark (formerly Dunedin Stadium)Dunedin
Washington NationalsFITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm BeachesWest Palm Beach

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