TD Ballpark

Last updated
TD Ballpark
TD Ballpark in 2021.jpg
Entrance to TD Ballpark
TD Ballpark
Former namesDunedin Stadium at Grant Field
Knology Park (2004–2008)
Florida Auto Exchange Stadium (2010–2017)
Dunedin Stadium (2018)
Location373 Douglas Avenue #A
Dunedin, FL 34698
Coordinates 28°0′13″N82°47′11″W / 28.00361°N 82.78639°W / 28.00361; -82.78639 Coordinates: 28°0′13″N82°47′11″W / 28.00361°N 82.78639°W / 28.00361; -82.78639
OwnerCity of Dunedin Parks & Recreation Department
OperatorCity of Dunedin Parks & Recreation Department
Capacity 8,500 (2020-present)
5,509 (2005–2019)
6,106 (1999–2004)
6,218 (1990–1998)
Field sizeLeft Field – 333 ft
Left-Center – 380 ft
Center Field – 400 ft
Right-Center – 363 ft
Right Field – 336 ft
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 1, 1989 [1]
OpenedMarch 1, 1990
Construction cost$2.4 million
($4.98 million in 2021 dollars [2] )
ArchitectJohnston Dana Associates
General contractorCase Contracting Company [3]
Tenants
Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) 1990–present (Spring training); April–May 2021 (Regular season)
Dunedin Blue Jays (FSL) 1990–present
Dunedin High School baseball

TD Ballpark, originally Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field, is a baseball field located in Dunedin, Florida. The stadium was built in 1990 and holds 8,500 people. It is the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as home to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League and the Dunedin High School Falcons baseball team. The stadium has also been known as Knology Park (2004–2008) and Florida Auto Exchange Stadium (2010–2017).

Contents

During the first two months of the 2021 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays played their home games at the stadium. [4]

History

From 1977 to 1989, the Blue Jays played at Grant Field, which had a seating capacity of 3,417. Grant Field opened in 1930 and was named after the mayor of Dunedin Albert J. Grant (served 1927–1928), who had donated the land. The first Toronto Blue Jays game ever was played there on March 11, 1977 when the Blue Jays beat the New York Mets 3–1.

In 1990, at a cost of approximately $2.4 million, the City of Dunedin built a new stadium called Dunedin Stadium at the same location as Grant Field. It had a capacity of 6,106. The actual playing field and team clubhouses did not change.

In the fall of 2000, the Toronto Blue Jays signed an agreement to remain in Dunedin for an additional 15 years pending a $12-million renovation. The state of Florida paid $6 million, Pinellas County $3 million, and the Jays and Dunedin paid the remainder for the renovations. The agreement took effect in March 2002. Part of the renovations have included a new two-story building that includes a clubhouse, training room, weight room, and office space that was built next to the stadium. The most recent renovations at Dunedin Stadium include remodeled restrooms and replacement of the grandstand seats.

In February 1995, during the Major League Baseball strike, the Blue Jays considered holding regular season games at Dunedin Stadium if the regular season began with replacement players. Ontario law forbade the Blue Jays from using replacement players in Toronto. American League officials inspected the ballpark on February 21, 1995 in response to the club's request to host games in Dunedin. [5] The strike ended in March 1995 and no regular season games were played at the park.

Dunedin Stadium was once ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the top five facilities to watch a Major League Baseball Spring training game.[ citation needed ] Dunedin has been the only spring home for the Toronto Blue Jays since their inception in 1977.

The current park capacity is 5,509 individual seats and features include a press box level with air-conditioned skyboxes, three picnic areas, two air-conditioned rooms, a scoreboard with electronic message display, regulation-sized Major League playing field and lighting, two half-fields (one natural grass and one artificial turf), batting tunnels, and full concession capabilities. In addition, the administrative offices feature an executive boardroom, dining room and kitchen, classroom, clubhouse and workout and training facilities.

Before Spring Training began in 2021, the Blue Jays announced that the team would begin the 2021 regular season at TD Ballpark. The team cited the restriction of non-essential travel between the United States and Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the decision. [6] The team played 21 games in Dunedin before shifting to Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, which had been their home for the entirety of the 2020 season. [4]

Renovation

The Blue Jays lease of the facility ran through 2017; however, they held the option to extend it by an additional five years twice. After investigating possible alternative sites to host their spring training facility, [7] the team negotiated an $81 million renovation to the stadium ($33.3 million) and Englebert Complex ($47.8 million) in 2014 under which they would contribute $20 million (plus any cost overruns) with the rest coming from the state ($13.7 million), county ($41.7 million) and city ($5.6 million) governments. [8] [9] [10] The club retains all revenue from sales at concessions and parking at the stadium, while they share revenue from naming rights with the city. [8] The new lease agreement for the stadium lasts for 25 years, with the option to renew for a further 2 years five times. [8] [11] The City Commission approved the deal in November 2017, [12] while the county agreed to approve a funding request for the project in April 2018. By September 2019 the budget for the renovation had increased to $102 million, with the team investing an extra $20 million and the city contributing $530,000. [13]

Groundbreaking took place in April 2019, with the project completing in time for the Jays' 2020 spring training. [14] [15] The stadium's capacity was expanded from 5,500 to 8,500, with 6,500 fixed seats. [16]

Naming rights

Beginning in 2004 the stadium was known as Knology Park as part of a naming agreement with Knology, a southeastern United States communications and entertainment company. This agreement expired on September 30, 2008. [17]

On November 7, 2010, the City of Dunedin announced that it had reached a 7-year, $181,000 agreement with the Florida Auto Exchange, a Dunedin car sales center, for the naming rights of Dunedin Stadium. The facility was renamed "Florida Auto Exchange Stadium" until October 1, 2017 when the agreement expired. [18] [19]

In November 2019, the Jays announced that TD Bank had acquired naming rights for the renovated stadium, which would be renamed TD Ballpark. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Blue Jays</span> Major League Baseball franchise in Toronto, Ontario

The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedin, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Dunedin is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area and is the fifth largest city in Pinellas County. The population was 36,068 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogers Centre</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Canada; home venue of the Toronto Blue Jays

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, the stadium was also home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) played an annual game at the stadium as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large events such as conventions, trade fairs, concerts, travelling carnivals, circuses and monster truck shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahlen Field</span> Baseball stadium in Buffalo, New York

Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, it opened on April 14, 1988, and can seat up to 16,600 people, making it the highest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the United States. It replaced the Bisons' former home, War Memorial Stadium, where the team played from 1979 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedin Blue Jays</span> Minor league baseball team

The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, which opened in 1990 and seats 8,500 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innovative Field</span> Baseball stadium in Rochester, New York

Innovative Field is a baseball stadium located at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened in 1996, replacing Silver Stadium in northern Rochester, which had been home to professional baseball in Rochester since 1929. Although the stadium was built for baseball, Innovative Field has had several tenants in numerous sports, including the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the United Soccer Leagues from 1996 to 2005, and the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse from 2001 to 2002. The ballpark seats 10,840 spectators for baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USSSA Space Coast Complex</span>

USSSA Space Coast Complex is a baseball stadium and 13 diamond multi-sports facility in Viera, Florida, owned by Brevard County, Florida. Under its original name, Space Coast Stadium, it served as the spring training facility for the Florida Marlins (1994–2002), Montreal Expos (2003–2004), and Washington Nationals (2005–2016) and as the home field of the Brevard County Manatees (1994–2016). After a full year of renovations, it officially reopened in 2017 with its new name as a baseball/softball venue – part of a new multi-sport complex operated by the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). Since 2017, it has been the home field of the USSSA Pride women's professional fast-pitch softball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammond Stadium</span>

Hammond Stadium is a baseball field located in the CenturyLink Sports Complex in South Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The stadium was built in 1991, and underwent major renovations in 2014 and 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Smith Stadium</span> Baseball field in Sarasota, Florida, USA

Ed Smith Stadium is a baseball field located in Sarasota, Florida. Since 2010, it has been the spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Steinbrenner Field</span> Baseball stadium in Tampa, Florida

George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, with an addition in right field built in 2007. It is the largest spring training ballpark in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LECOM Park</span> Baseball field in Bradenton, Florida

LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, and also a campus in Bradenton. It was formerly known as McKechnie Field, named for Bradenton resident and Baseball Hall of Fame great Bill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in 1925 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1940 to World Series titles. He was also a coach with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Russell Memorial Stadium</span>

Jack Russell Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Jack Russell Stadium in 1955. It had a capacity of 4,744 when it opened; in 2003 seating capacity was 6,942 people. It was the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1955 through 2003. Since 2017, it has been home to the Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College baseball teams.

The Carpenter Complex is a complex of four baseball fields, training facilities, and offices in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Carpenter Field in 1967. It is the Florida home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball operations, spring training site for the Phillies’ minor league players, home to the Florida Complex League Phillies, and adjacent to BayCare Ballpark, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies and regular season home of the Clearwater Threshers. While the Complex is now adjacent to BayCare Ballpark, the Phillies, until 2004, played spring training games a short drive away, which gave the Complex its own identity in the Phillies organizational structure and the team's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reese McGuire</span> American baseball player (born 1995)

Reese Jackson McGuire is an American professional baseball catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lourdes Gurriel Jr.</span> Cuban baseball player (born 1993)

Lourdes Yunielki Gurriel Castillo Jr. is a Cuban professional baseball left fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays where he debuted in 2018. He played for Sancti Spíritus and the Industriales of the Cuban National Series before defecting from Cuba. Gurriel was ranked as one of the top international prospects available following his defection.

The Bobby Mattick Training Center at Englebert Complex is a sports facility owned by the City of Dunedin, Florida. It is used primarily by the Toronto Blue Jays as a practice facility, and is home to their Rookie league affiliate, the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Field (Dunedin)</span> Baseball stadium located in Dunedin, Florida.

Grant Field was a baseball stadium located in Dunedin, Florida. It was the longtime home of Dunedin amateur baseball and the first spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as home to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A Florida State League. It was closed in 1989 and replaced with TD Ballpark built on the same site.

References

  1. ↑ "Groundbreaking Set for Stadium". St. Petersburg Times . August 26, 1989. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field" (PDF). Case Contracting Company. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Joey Johnston (May 24, 2021). "Dunedin says good-bye to Blue Jays for the summer". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ Walker, Ben (February 21, 1995). "Dunedin Home to Majors?". Ocala Star-Banner . p. 1C. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Blue Jays to open home slate in Dunedin". MLB.com. February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  7. ↑ Griffin, Richard (2014-01-25). "Blue Jays likely to keep Dunedin as spring training home". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  8. 1 2 3 Davidi, Shi (2017-11-06). "Details emerge from Blue Jays' new spring training agreement in Dunedin". Sportsnet . Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  9. ↑ "Clock is ticking for Dunedin to sign deal with Toronto Blue Jays". 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  10. ↑ Davidi, Shi (2017-02-21). "Plans for spring facility, Rogers Centre renovations in progress". Sportsnet . Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  11. ↑ "CITY OF DUNEDIN AND TORONTO BLUE JAYS LICENSE AGREEMENT". City of Dunedin. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  12. ↑ "Blue Jays New License Agreement". City of Dunedin. 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  13. ↑ Stockfisch, Jerry (2019-10-08). "Dunedin's Blue Jays stadium $100 million makeover takes shape". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  14. ↑ SCHANTZ, MARK (2019-04-26). "Dunedin, Blue Jays break ground on $81 million stadium, training complex project". Times Publishing Company . Retrieved 2019-04-27.
  15. ↑ "Blue Jays hope new training facility leads to competitive advantage". Sportsnet. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  16. ↑ "AGREEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION OF THE DUNEDIN SPRING TRAINING FACILITIES". City of Dunedin. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  17. ↑ "Knology Park Reverts to Old Name, Dunedin Stadium". St. Petersburg Times . November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  18. ↑ Harwell, Drew (November 6, 2010). "It's no 1-800-ASK-GARY". St. Petersburg Times . Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Naming rights agreement between the City of Dunedin and Florida Auto Exchange".
  20. ↑ "Welcome to TD Ballpark: The Spring Training home of the Toronto Blue Jays" (PDF). Toronto Blue Jays. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.