Charlotte Sports Park (formerly known as Charlotte County Stadium and Ranger Stadium) 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 t ...

stadium in

Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Port ...

. The stadium is the home field for

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

spring training operations, as well as its Rookie-class Florida Complex League Rays teams. From 2009 to 2020, it also hosted the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the

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Florida State League. Originally built in 1987, the main stadium underwent a renovation that was completed in January 2009 at a cost of $27 million. Prior to the Rays, the stadium was home to Texas Rangers spring training exhibition games and the team's minor league affiliate Charlotte Rangers. The ballpark has also hosted college baseball tournaments and the

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseba ...

Charlotte County Redfish.

Stadium features

Charlotte Sports Park has a variety of amenities including a playground area, a boardwalk from foul pole to foul pole, two grass berms for general seating, and a tiki bar. The stadium features four air conditioned suites on the second floor and team store. The third floor of the stadium houses a 17-seat press box, the media dining center, PA booth, camera well, and four broadcast booths. The stadium sits on a complex that also includes five full practice fields, a half field for infield drills, and indoor batting cages. In March 2014, Charlotte Sports Park was named the #1 spring training destination by the readers of USA Today and 10Best.

History

In the spring of 1993, Texas Rangers pitcher

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

announced his retirement from the clubhouse at the stadium. During the 1994 Spring Training, the Rangers played host to the

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who featured basketball star Michael Jordan. The game drew a record crowd and was one of only a few sites in Florida to host Jordan. In 2000, after signing an unprecedented 10-year deal worth $252 million with the Texas Rangers, slugger

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

held a press conference with the sports media at the stadium. The stadium was unable to accommodate the significant number of news reporters. In an effort to allow enough room for reporters to speak to Rodriguez, the press conference was held on the roof of the Rangers' dugout, a clear sign that the Rangers had outgrown the facility. They would leave 2 years later. The Rays opened Spring Training at the renovated stadium on February 14, 2009. They lost their first Spring Training game to the Cincinnati Reds on February 25, 7–0. Their first Spring Training home win came on February 27, a 12–4 win over the Boston Red Sox. On February 3, 2010, the Rays announced a naming rights deal with

The Mosaic Company The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Tampa, Florida which mines phosphate, potash, and collects urea for fertilizer, through various international distribution networks, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It is the largest U.S. producer ...

. The agreement was reported to last through 2024, however due to a potential conflict-of-interest with Charlotte County—whom ultimately must approve the name change—the Rays asked for more time to study the proposal before giving it to the county commissioners for final approval. On February 17, due to intense opposition by both the Charlotte County Council and local residents, the Rays announced they were abandoning the deal with Mosaic and will potentially look at other companies in the future instead. The stadium has also been used by the local community for non-baseball events like concerts, festivals, and expos. It has hosted such musicians as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

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, and Simple Plan.

Retired Number 405

Number 405 is "retired" at Charlotte Sports Park which was the radio number that belonged to Sgt. Michael Wilson. Sgt. Wilson was a member of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Department for 21 years and was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call on August 5, 2013. The community rallied around the Wilson family and turned out in thousands holding signs and waving flags as the funeral procession drove by. On August 13, 2014, the Charlotte Stone Crabs retired Sgt. Wilson's 405 during a

pre-game ceremony A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause. Celebrating past event ...

, with the Wilson family unveiling the jersey shaped sign. The number now hangs just inside the Home Plate gate.

References

External links

Charlotte County Sports Park construction photos (plumbing)

{{South Coast League , state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Charlotte County, Florida Grapefruit League venues Minor league baseball venues South Coast League venues Sports venues in Florida Spring training ballparks Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers (baseball) Baseball venues in Florida Tampa Bay Rays spring training venues Tourist attractions in Charlotte County, Florida 1987 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 1987 Florida Complex League ballparks Sports complexes in Florida