Up until last year, I had been to all of the current Grapefruit League spring training facilities. Two stadiums, Space Coast Stadium in Viera and Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, are no longer in use because their teams decided to upgrade and move in together.
The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals now share a complex in West Palm Beach. In the inaugural season it simply was referred to as the Ballpark at the Palm Beaches. This season moving forward, the facility is now the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The capitalization of the sponsor is intentional, as that is how it is presented on all of the signage both online and in person.
That is it for the formalities. The complex itself is as fan friendly as you can get in the Grapefruit League. Granted, I was at the stadium two hours before game time to walk around and watch some batting practice, the ease of movement around the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches was encouraging.
When I first arrived, there wasn’t even a full row of cars in the parking lot. After I left around the 7th inning, the parking lot still wasn’t close to full, but it was just as easy leaving as it was getting to the ballpark. There were a handful of golf carts going back and forth to assist handicapped guests.
The practice fields for Washington are in between the stadium and the parking lot. You have to walk by them to get to and from your car. When I arrived, there were players taking batting practice on multiple fields with another area being used for agility drills. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez were signing autographs in an area that was very accessible for fans. It was a great place to just watch the atmosphere of practicing during spring training.
Inside the stadium, every thing felt compact in a good way. The walkways in concourses are not too deep, so you can see the field even as you walk out of the bathrooms or get done in the concession line. As is my favorite part about stadiums, the ability to walk around the entire field did not take long at all. It is all one level, and there are no stairs or inclines to worry about until you go down an aisle to your seat or sit down in the lawn grass.
As I walked around the different parts of the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches (such a long name to type out…) fans slowly began creeping in to the stadium. The only on field batting practice groups were Washington players whom I did not recognize. After the two groups hit, the grounds crew took over to get the field ready for the game. This is when I walked around to check out the different angles around the stadium and find out which seats would be best.
I ended up trying a bratwurst from the concession stand. It was wrapped in tinfoil like a hot dog and I had to check to make sure the guy gave me the correct food. There was an ample selection of craft beer to choose from as well as mainstream domestic options. Everybody seemed to be enjoying him or herself throughout the day, and alcohol consumption certainly helped fans in a particular section I was in later in the ballgame.
It seemed as if there wasn’t a bad seat in the ballpark. I did not get to walk upstairs to the press box level, but I assume the view from the second level is more than acceptable. All of the lower level seats are of course right by the field. The best seats for the prices, in my opinion were the lawn seats. The grass literally goes right up to the wall, and you can sit or stand just feet from the field. Home runs can be robbed, although I would never encourage such a thing unless it gives your team the runs.
The FITTTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches lacked instant replay on the video boards, but such are first world problems. It did have video graphics of players such as Bryce Harper.
FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches atmosphere
Washington played Houston in the game I attended; both of the teams use it as their home park. The Nationals were the designated home team, and the announcer was definitely pro-Washington. I assume they use a different guy if Houston was designated at home, but the fan base was essentially split and it seemed awkward to completely favor one team over the other.
The FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches even has the famous race of the presidents
It was windy at the stadium, and there balls flying out all over the park during the two rounds of batting practice. There were a couple in the game itself, and it appeared the stadium is a good place to get a home run souvenir. The grass area directly behind center field in front of the batter’s eye was roped off however.
This stadium was really a precedent of what a ballpark should be. More teams in the Grapefruit League may try to double up on complexes in the future to mimic the Cactus League, and the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is a good place to look for examples.
My only concern is a lack of uniqueness. Everything seemed ‘by the book’ in terms of design. The best part was, without a doubt, the closeness of the practice fields and accessibility of the players to the fans. I think that was the feature I will think of most about the complex. The only problem is that you need to be at the field early to appreciate it and see the players.
The one thing about Washington and Houston is they are two of the hottest teams in baseball right now. There is star power all over the field – infield, outfield, pitching – it is all there. Even if you aren’t a fan of either team in particular like myself, there is high caliber baseball to be seen.
Leave a Reply