As pitchers and catchers report to begin their annual baseball rituals, for the first time in 50 years Fort Lauderdale Stadium will be empty during spring training. The former pre-season home of the New York Yankees and more recently the Baltimore Orioles, has been vacated after the Orioles could not come to an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration on a long-term lease for the field. The Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport owns the land where the stadium resides, and wanted $1.3 million per year for the upkeep of the adjacent land. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the Orioles signed a deal to move the team to Sarasota.
Even though the Yankees have been in Tampa since the mid 1990's, spring training baseball in South Florida evokes memories of when such great talent brought excitement to many of the Northern transplants to see their favorite current and future superstars. Gone from South Florida are the hopes of seeing such superstars as Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken Jr., etc. in an intimate setting.
For baseball fans in South Florida that want their baseball fix, the closest spring training outlet is over an hour away in Jupiter, home of the Marlins and Cardinals. Feel free to share your Yankee spring training memories from Fort Lauderdale in the comments section below.
More Info:
Fort Lauderdale Stadium No Longer Spring Training Host - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Comments
I had the chance to go there in the early 90's and meet quite a few of the Yankee players. I was also there during the strike and it was odd. Steinbrenner was in the stands during practice with the 50 or so of us that came to watch and thanked us all for coming. In 1997 the ST after Ripken broke the streak, it was packed and he managed to sign for almost an hour after practice each time.
I used to go to the stadium with my dad and watch the Yankees spring training every year. I also went to numerous Ft Lauderdale Yankee games. What a cozy stadium that has hosted quite a few legends in its 50 years, even Michael Jordan played there in the White Sox system....
Its sad to see this stadium go.. My grandfather, my mom, and myself all worked there at one point. My grandfather passed when I was extremely young so my thoughts and most of my memories with him are there. For the Yanks to leave was a kick in the face and now that the city wants to destroy it. Well that really hurts.
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