Minnesota Twins’ Spring Home Hammond Stadium to be renovated - MLB News
The Lee County Sports Complex, the home of the Minnesota Twins’ Spring Training, will undergo renovations after the proposal was approved in a 3-1 vote by the Lee County Board. The Twins have inked in a new 30-year lease for facility located in Fort Myers,
Florida as well. The lease will continue until 2045.
The club President Dave St. Peter, Chairman Jerry Bell and special assistant to the general manager Bill Smith were all present during the vote. Kevin Smith, the Twins’ executive director of public affairs was full of excitement by the latest developments.
"This is an exciting day for Twins baseball," he said "And not only in Minnesota, but in Florida, because the Spring Training experience will be better a couple of years after these renovations will be made."
The renovation will cost $42.5 million. The State of Florida has committed an amount of $15 million for the project. Most of the cost will be paid for by a county bond issue. The Twins will pay $3.9 million for a 55 room dormitory for its officials and players.
As a part of the plan, the Twins will pay a total of $13.8 million, mostly via increased rent. A three percent increase will be applied every five years and the rent has also been increased from $300,000 to $500,000.
The Twins have been availing the facility since 1991, the same year when its construction was completed. The sports complex also houses the Class A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle and the Gulf Coast League Twins.
The stadium will get an increase in the seating capacity from 8000 to 9300. A new practice field, adjacent to the agility field will also be added. Along with adding a new gift shop, up gradation of the concession stands, washrooms, press box and suites
will also be done. More shaded areas will be added in the ballpark.
Changes will be made to the dimensions of the Hammond Stadium to match those of Twins’ home, Target Field. A board walk area will also be added to the outfield. "I think one of the neat features is adding the boardwalk area in the outfield area, which helps
create a 360-degree walk around the facility similar to Target Field," Smith said. He believed that changing the geometry of the playing field to resemble that of Target Field will also be beneficial for the club and will be a neat feature.
The new lease will take effect once the renovations have been completed. The uplift is expected to begin in April 2014 and the work should be done by the time 2015 season begins. The changes in the Hammond Stadium can be useful for the Twins in Spring Training.
The matching dimensions with the Target Field will allow the players to play in home-like conditions which can be very advantageous.
Tags: