Tampa Bay Rays investing more than $2M into Charlotte Sports Park

Reporter: Erika Jackson
Published: Updated:
The Charlotte Stone Crabs — formerly a Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays — were forced to close entirely, and there’s no plan to replace them. (Credit: WINK News)

Get ready. Changes are coming to the Charlotte Sports Park.

The Tampa Bay Rays are investing more than $2 million into their spring training home park.

The upgrades will include renovations to create an indoor training space; construction of a new building for player development; and enclosing the batting cages.

Some fans say improving the players’ experience, will in return, improve the fan experience.

Scott Long of North Port said, “It’s a great atmosphere. The weather is great. It’s outdoors, unlike the normal stadium in Saint Petersburg.”

Some of the improvements coming to the sports park will also be a pay off for the fans.

DOCUMENT: See a breakdown of the $100K in improvements split with the County

$100 thousand in annual improvements will be split by the Rays and Charlotte County, and it will include new seats in the suites, added shading, new boardwalk umbrellas and an awning over a concession stand.

Some argue the fan experience is great the way it is, but others are hoping those improvements will attract more fans.

“I think there’s a lot of new income coming into the area and I’d like to see the growth sustain its self as long as possible,” Long said.

Major League Baseball gave the Rays permission to explore splitting its regular season between Tampa Bay and Montreal.

Charlotte County says those changes would not impact their spring training contract, which runs through 2024.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.