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| Location | Newberry, Florida, US |
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| Coordinates | 29°37′14″N82°35′58″W / 29.620679°N 82.599463°W |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2011 |
| Built | 2011/2012 |
| Opened | June 30, 2012 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Nations Park is an open invitational baseball tournament complex located in the city of Newberry, Florida. The park was formed with partnerships between the City of Newberry, Nations Baseball Florida Inc., and the Alachua County Tourism Development Board. [1] The facility has 16 stadiums.
Lou Presutti, founder of Cooperstown Dreams Park came to the City of Newberry in 2009 to establish the park. It completed construction in 2012, but the grand opening was delayed until March 2013.
Nations Park is a $7 million baseball tournament complex that is built on 40 acres of land donated by the Davis family on the corner of US 41/27 and SW 30th Ave. [2] [3] In July 2011, the construction of Nations Park came to a brief stop upon discovery of several endangered Gopher Tortoises. The construction remained on hold for several weeks while experts were brought on site to relocate the protected species to a tortoise sanctuary. [4] The 16 fields for Nations Park are completed as of April, 2012 and are ready to play for the inaugural 2012 tournaments. [5] [6]
The 16 stadiums at Nations Park are built for multiple age groups, 8- to 14-year-old baseball players and 12- to 14-year-old girls fastpitch softball players. The stadiums are fully enclosed and have natural grass outfields and synthetic turf infields. In each stadium, the mounds and basepaths are all adjustable to accompany the correct age group and boasts 220' foot walls and a scorer's tower.
Nations Park hosts week-long summer and holiday tournaments for American and Canadian boys' baseball and girls' fastpitch softball teams.
The park was expected to have huge economical impact on the small city of Newberry. Nations Park is projected to attract between 90,000 and 120,000 people to Newberry each summer. Once completed, the park may pump an estimated $20 million into the local economy. [7] [8] The park will help generate an additional 50,000 to 80,000 local room nights per year that will supplement the city's tourism revenue. [9]
There are plans in the future to expand Nations Park to 32 fields. The city of Newberry, Nations Baseball Florida Inc., and the Alachua County Tourism Development Board will have to gain more tourism revenue needed for an expansion. [10] [11]
Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus opened with 106 students.
Alachua is the second-largest city in Alachua County, Florida and the third-largest in North Central Florida. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,574. Alachua has one of the largest bio and life sciences sectors in Florida and is the site for the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies.
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,214 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020.
Hawthorne is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawthorne has been known for its agriculture, railroad, and rural lifestyle. Hawthorne's population was 1,478 at the 2020 census, with an area of 7.38 sq mi (19.1 km2).
Newberry is a city located in the southwest corner of Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,342 as of the 2020 Census. Much of the city borders neighboring Gilchrist County, to the west.
Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of Gainesville, in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua Co. Auth. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
F. W. Buchholz High School is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, United States. Buchholz is one of seven high schools in Alachua County. Opened in January 1971, it is the largest public high school in Gainesville, with 2,241 students in 2020. The Buchholz Math Team was dubbed "America's Greatest Math Team" by The Wall Street Journal in 2022, when Buchholz won first place for the 14th time in the annually held national Mu Alpha Theta math competition.
Oak Hall School is a private school in Gainesville, Florida, that was founded in 1970 as a segregation academy.
The Old Gainesville Depot is a historic site at 203 Southeast Depot Avenue in Gainesville, Florida. It is located along the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park.
The 1867 Matheson House is a historic building in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 528 Southeast 1st Avenue. It was the home of James Douglas Matheson and Augusta Florida Steele Matheson, the daughter of Florida pioneer Augustus Steele, who founded Hillsborough County and Cedar Key. James Douglas Matheson owned a dry goods store in downtown Gainesville and was active in local and state politics, as was his son, eight-term Gainesville mayor Chris Matheson, who was also a state legislator.
State Road 26 is a 62.172-mile-long (100.056 km) east–west route across North Central Florida.
The Alachua County Library District (ALCD) is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 280,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. There are branch locations in seven of the eight other incorporated municipalities in the county. ACLD also operates a branch at the county jail, and two bookmobiles.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut is an American Democratic politician who served on the Gainesville, Florida City Commission from 1987 to 1989 and as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000, representing the 23rd District. After unsuccessfully running for the Florida Senate in 2000, Chestnut was elected to the Alachua County Commission in 2002, where she served until she lost re-election in 2010.
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home games in Condron Ballpark on the university's Gainesville, Florida, campus, and are currently led by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. In the 105-season history of the Florida baseball program, the team has won 16 SEC championships and has appeared in 13 College World Series tournaments. The Gators won their first national championship in 2017.
Gatorback Cycle Park is an off-road motorcycle park located northeast of the city of Newberry, FL. This track has gained fame among off-road motorcycle enthusiasts and hosts several American Motorcyclist Association Motorcross events throughout the year, including the famous Mini-O's. It hosted a round of the AMA Motocross Championship from 1983 to 1997.
Stuart Craig Lowe was an American politician who served as Mayor of Gainesville, Florida, from 2010 to 2013; he previously served as Gainesville City Commissioner from 2003 through his becoming mayor. Lowe was the first openly gay mayor of the city.
Glen Springs is a 5th magnitude hydrological spring in Gainesville, Florida, United States, located at 2424 NW 23rd Boulevard. Formerly a popular swimming and recreation area, the property closed to the public in 1970 and is no longer maintained for swimming.
The Matheson History Museum Complex is located in Gainesville, Florida. It includes the Matheson History Museum, the Matheson Library & Archives, the 1867 Matheson House, and the Tison Tool Barn.
The Mayor of Gainesville is, for ceremonially purposes, receipt of service of legal processes and the purposes of military law, official head of the city of Gainesville, Florida and otherwise a member of, and chair of, the city commission, required to preside at all meetings thereof. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city commission, but has no veto powers.
William "Stafford" Jones, from Gainesville, Florida, has been implicated in a 2012 scandal involving drawing district lines in favor of Republicans. Jones was on the Florida state delegation for the 2020 Republican National Convention and was a longtime the Chairman of Alachua County Republican Party.