NOW PINCH HITTING for Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium … The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches!
Minor league baseball is coming to West Palm Beach for the first time since 1997.
Starting July 24, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach will serve as the temporary home of the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals for the final seven weeks of the Florida State League season.
The teams's 10-mile shift south to West Palm is necessary because their main home, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, is about to undergo a $108 million renovation.
“We wanted to get our players off site so we can begin the renovation/demo process. It will give us the space necessary to begin this large project,’’ said Mike Bauer, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium’s general manager.
Bauer is hoping the temporary transition with be seamless. All previously purchased game tickets and season-long ticket packages will transfer to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the spring home of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals between Military Trail and Haverhill Road just south of 45th Street.
The last FSL game at Roger Dean this year will be played July 9. Renovations at the facility, which opened in 1998, will start July 10.
After the FSL All-Star break, the Hammerheads and Cardinals will play exclusively on the road until moving to The Ballpark on July 24. The first game open to the public in West Palm is July 26 when Jupiter hosts the Clearwater Threshers.
The Hammerheads and Cardinals intend to return to Jupiter for the 2024 season as renovations to the 25-year-old complex continue. And their parent Major League Baseball teams, the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, intend to host an uninterrupted 2024 spring training schedule in Jupiter.
West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, the spring home of the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos, hosted minor league games until it closed after the 1997 season. The stadium site on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard is now a Home Depot.
Since it opened in 2017, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches has not hosted any minor leagues games.
Hammerheads and Cardinals games at The Ballpark will feature the same perks offered at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, including free parking. Other Roger Dean programs, including Silver Sluggers, Thirsty Thursdays, Firework Fridays and Kids Club Saturdays, are scheduled to take place for the remainder of the season in West Palm Beach.
“We can’t wait to share the finished product at The Dean with our fans. But until that happens, we’re fortunate to have a partner and facility like Ballpark of the Palm Beaches just 10 miles down the road to help us continue to deliver a great game experience,” Bauer said in a statement.
“Their complex has great player development areas and still allows us to deliver a family-friendly environment for our fans.’’
Information regarding the updated ticket policy and options can be found at RogerDeanChevroletStadium.com.
Roger Dean renovations are expected to be completed by spring 2025.
“We can’t wait for fans to see what we have in store after this renovation,” said Bauer. “After a three-year delay from the pandemic, we’re ready to get started on much-needed enhancements for our teams, players, and fans.”
More information about the move can be found here.
© 2023 ByJoeCapozzi.com All rights reserved.
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About the author
Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.