BayCare Ballpark is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

stadium located in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. The stadium was built in 2004 and has a maximum seating capacity of 8,500 people (7,000 fixed seats with additional grass berm seating for 1,500). The ballpark is the

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

home of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, and also the home of their Class A affiliate, the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. A sculpture titled ''The Ace''—by artist Kevin Brady—stands at the ballpark's west entrance plaza.

Name

The stadium was originally named Bright House Networks Field after the regional / national cable company,

Bright House Networks Bright House Networks, LLC also simply known as Bright House, was an American telecom company. Prior to its purchase by Charter Communications, it was the tenth-largest multichannel video service provider and the 6th largest cable internet provi ...

, whose local head end center is located just to the south of the stadium. It was announced on January 20, 2004, that

had secured the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

for the new ballpark. Under the terms of the agreement, Bright House Networks would pay the Phillies $1.7 million over 10 years with an option for two 5-year renewals. The City of Clearwater received one-third of the payment. The name was shortened to Bright House Field in 2013. In 2017, the complex was renamed Spectrum Field after Bright House was purchased by

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

. While named for Charter's residential service, the name invoked memories of the

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

arena that operated from 1967 to 2009 at the

South Philadelphia Sports Complex The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the home of most major Philadelphia professional sports teams. The complex is located in South Philadelphia and is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, home arena for the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia ...

, which the Phillies have called home since 1971. The name was changed to BayCare Ballpark in February 2021, when BayCare Health System reached a six-year naming-rights agreement with a five-year renewal option. BayCare Health System also became the exclusive healthcare system partner for the Phillies in the Florida market.

History

BayCare Ballpark is the Phillies' third Clearwater spring training home. The team moved to Clearwater in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. They trained and played home games at

Clearwater Athletic Field Clearwater Athletic Field was a stadium in Clearwater, Florida. It was first used by professional baseball teams for spring training in 1923 and was the Phillies' first spring training ballpark in Clearwater. The grandstand sat approximately 2 ...

from

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. The City of Clearwater opened a new ballpark for spring training in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and named it

Jack Russell Stadium 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 ...

. (The ballpark was renamed Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in 1990.) With the stadium aging, the Phillies and the city erected their new spring home adjacent to the Phillies' year-round training facility, the

Carpenter Complex 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 s ...

, east of Jack Russell Memorial Stadium. Ground-breaking of the new stadium took place on October 16, 2002. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the ballpark took place on February 27, 2004 prior to the annual spring-training Phan Fest. On June 24, 2012, thanks to the rain bands off Tropical Storm Debby, the field was flooded, becoming

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

-like.

Significant Games

The Phillies played their first spring-training game at the park on March 4,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. 8,205 fans watched the Phils beat the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

5–1.

Vicente Padilla Vicente de la Cruz Padilla (born September 27, 1977) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

started for the Phillies,

Marlon Byrd Marlon Jerrard Byrd (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, New Yo ...

had the park's first hit, and

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White ...

hit the first home run. Bright House Field

Spectrum Field hosted the 44th Florida State League All-Star Game on June 18, 2005. A crowd of 5,547 saw the West defeat the East 6–4. The

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

' Chris Dickerson hit a two-run home run, scored two runs, and earned the game's Star of Stars Award. Future major league players who appeared in the game included Dickeron,

Reggie Abercrombie Reginald Damascus Abercrombie (born July 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. Professional career Abercrombie graduated from Colum ...

, Carlos Villanueva, and Sean Marshall. Threshers pitcher Julio De La Cruz pitched the first no-hitter at the ballpark on August 18, 2006. De La Cruz beat the

5–0 in front of 5,906 fans on "Pitch for Pink Night" in Clearwater. The Threshers wore special pink uniforms to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. It was the first no-hitter for Clearwater since 1992.

College baseball

The

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

held its championship tournament at Spectrum Field in 2006 and from 2008 to 2013. Notre Dame defeated

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

7–0 on May 27, 2006, to win the 2006 championship. Louisville defeated

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

6–3 to win the 2008 championship on May 24, 2008. In 2009, Louisville again won the tournament. In 2010, St. John's won the title, defeating

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...

3–0 in the championship game. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 5th-seeded

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

became the lowest seeded team ever to win the Big East Tournament, defeating St. John's 4–2. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, St. John's defeated

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

7–3 in the title game to win the tournament. Beginning in 2014, the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

has held its conference baseball tournament at Spectrum Field.

Attendance figures

The single-game attendance record for the Threshers was set on July 3, 2019, when 10,055 saw Clearwater lose to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

, 1-0. Between 2007 and 2015, the top 6 of the Threshers top 10 single-game attendance numbers occurred on July 3. The all time spring training attendance record for BayCare Ballpark was set on March 17, 2019 when 11,340 saw the Yankees defeat the Phillies 7-3. The spring-training attendance mark for BayCare Ballpark is 143,500, set in 2009.

References

External links

Clearwater Threshers: Spectrum Field

Philadelphia Phillies: Spectrum Field

Baseball Parks: Spectrum Field

MiLB: Coverage of 2005 FSL All-Star Game at Spectrum Networks Field
{{FSL ballparks Minor league baseball venues Grapefruit League venues Sports venues in Clearwater, Florida Philadelphia Phillies spring training venues 2004 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 2004 Populous (company) buildings Florida State League ballparks