The Twins held a groundbreaking yesterday to mark the beginning of the Phase I renovations to Hammond Stadium and the Lee County Sports Complex, the team’s spring home. The $48.5 million renovation will transform the Lee County Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium into state-of-the-art facilities designed to enhance the fan experience and strengthen the team’s player development program. Designed by Populous, construction will be managed by Manhattan Twins Joint Venture (a partnership between Manhattan Construction Company, Chris-Tel Construction and Casey Construction), is expected to be totally completed in time for Spring Training 2015. The project is split into two phases.
Phase I will be completed by the spring of 2014 and includes –
- A new residential player development academy
- Renovations to the Minor League clubhouse and administrative areas
- A new Gulf Coast League playing field
- A new agility field
- Completion of a 360 degree boardwalk and concourse at Hammond Stadium, including new berm seating in left field
- Expansion of Hammond Stadium’s seating capacity of 8,000 to 9,300
- A new parking lot
Phase II is scheduled for completion by February 2015 and includes –
- Upgraded and expanded concourses
- Improved concession services
- Restroom renovations
- Premium seating improvements
- Clubhouse expansion and improvements
- A new retail store
- New areas for group seating
- Press box renovations
There is a nice 4 minute video explaining the project that you can view at http://www.news-press.com/videonetwork/2647628988001/Extreme-makover-to-the-Lee-County-Sports-Complex-begins . You even get a chance to see and hear former Twins GM Bill Smith again as he heads up the project for the Twins. There is no truth to the rumor as far as I can tell that Smith is looking to trade spring training sites with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ballpark Digest article with some nice renderings of the LCSC upgrades can be viewed here.
Article on the Twins site about the effort can be seen here.