Needed or not, Sox getting new park

Posted Mar 10, 2010 by Tribune Sports

Updated Mar 10, 2010 at 03:08 PM

FORT MYERS - City of Palms Park is the quintissential spring training stadium It’s quaint, intimate, well-maintained and fans sitting between first and third base are protected by a wide roof. Palm trees surround the park.

But the Red Sox want more, and they’ve used the threat of leaving to get a new stadium.

Last month, the Lee County Board of Commissioners and Red Sox released preliminary architectural renderings of a new $75 million complex that’s slated to open in 2012. What they’re doing is actually pretty cool. The new, as-yet unnamed park will “combine the most iconic aspects of Fenway Park with architectural and environmental elements that reflect the unique natural beauty of Southwest Florida.”

Specifically, the new park with have a Green Monster wall in left field, the same playing dimensions as 98-year-old Fenway, and a heavy red-brick New England feel complemented by more palm trees. It’ll hold about 11,000 fans, up from about 8,000 at City of Palms, and have six practice fields and adjoining facilties that will house the major and minor league operations.

None of this changes the fact that the existing venue is a great place for spring baseball. Word is, the city of Fort Myers and Lee County are working to attract another team to move into the stadium. That would give Fort Myers three teams, since the Twins also train here already.

Rays manager Joe Maddon likes the fact the Red Sox are getting a new park.

“It’s a great idea for this area and for the Red Sox,” he said. “I mean, they’re a big market team. They generate a lot of dough. This is a neat facility, but you can imagine them having something more than that, and it doesn’t surprise me they’re going to go all the way.”

I coudln’t get the architectural renderings of the new balpark to post here, but here are a few shots of City of Palms Park from this morning: