Ed Smith Stadium is a

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...

located in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

. Since 2010, it has been the

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

home of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

History

Ed Smith Stadium was built in 1989 to replace Payne Park as a

Spring Training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

and

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

site. It is named for the Sarasota civic leader who was instrumental in getting the new stadium built. It was formerly the spring home of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1989–1997) and the Baltimore Orioles (1991). In 1998, it replaced Plant City Stadium as the spring training home of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. The Reds remained at the facility through 2008. After Cincinnati's club moved its spring activities to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, Ed Smith Stadium spent a year without major league Spring Training. The Orioles became the stadium's tenant and operator in 2010. Baltimore had trained within Sarasota County previously at Twin Lakes Park in 1989 and 1990, as well as at Ed Smith in 1991—before moving to St. Petersburg and then Ft. Lauderdale for spring games. From 1989 to 2009, the stadium hosted a series of Minor League Baseball teams, the Single-A Sarasota White Sox, Sarasota Red Sox, and

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

. From 2004 until 2009, it housed the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

's Gulf Coast Reds. Ed Smith has also hosted high school and college baseball tournaments. On November 1, 2008, Barack Obama gave a speech to a crowd of 10,000 spectators as part of his 2008 presidential campaign.

Renovation

In 2008, a planned renovation fell through when a proposed bond issue from the city of Sarasota to partially fund the renovation was rejected by the voters. The Reds, whose lease with the city and the stadium expired after the season, announced that they intend to seek a new spring training home. They moved to Goodyear Ballpark, located in

, in 2010. The

reached a tentative 30-year agreement to begin spring training at Ed Smith Stadium starting in 2010 which included renovations to the stadium and surrounding areas. The $31.2 million renovation was completed prior to the beginning of spring training in February 2011.

Features after renovation

Seats in the renovated stadium are refurbished seats from the Orioles' home ballpark,

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

in downtown Baltimore. Three air-conditioned suites added to the park are numbered Suites 66, 70, and 83, corresponding to the club's three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

championships. A fabric sunshade system extends from the stadium's original roof to nearly double the number of seats in the shade. A series of photos produced by the Orioles shows the dramatic changes resulting from the renovation. Seating is available for 7,428 spectators, with standing room space taking the park's total capacity to 8,500. Two concourses include food and beverage stands, a cafe, and a gift shop. 100

HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

s are located throughout the stadium and a HD LED video board in the outfield measures high by across.

References

External links

Little Ballparks: Ed Smith Stadium
* {{Sarasota, Florida Baltimore Orioles spring training venues Chicago White Sox spring training venues Cincinnati Reds spring training venues Minor league baseball venues Grapefruit League venues 1989 establishments in Florida Baseball venues in Florida Sports venues completed in 1989 Florida Complex League ballparks Sports venues in Sarasota, Florida