Baseball in Sarasota

Sarasota is home to the Spring Training season for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.  The Orioles play spring training games in Sarasota´s Ed Smith Stadium, located on 12^th Street just west of Tuttle Avenue.

The Ed Smith Stadium is considered to be one of the finest spring training facilities in Major League Baseball.  The complex, owned by the city of Sarasota, includes the Ed Smith Stadium itself, as well as four Major League training fields, a practice infield, and covered batting tunnels.

The Ed Smith Stadium has a capacity of 7,500, including 6,500 armchair seats and 1,000 bleacher seats, offering plenty of room for baseball fans to experience a professional team in action.  Some games also offer standing room only tickets.  The parking areas at the complex accommodate 2,000 cars, and other parking availability is conveniently nearby.

The Baltimore Orioles have been holding spring training in Sarasota since 2012. Oriole players arrive at camp for spring training season in mid-February.  Games begin on March 1^st, with the first scheduled face-off against the Pirates in Bradenton, followed by a home game against the Rays on March 3^rd.

 Baseball fans can also watch the Orioles practice and work out on the practice fields at the sports complex.  Watching practice and workouts is free, and there are bleachers to accommodate observers.  Workouts are held mostly in the mornings, from 9:00 a.m. until approximately 1:30 p.m. 

Fans can often get autographs from their favorite Baltimore players.  The Reds enter and exit the clubhouse near the right-field corner, while visiting teams are usually found near the dugout on the third-base side.

The Ed Smith Stadium and the Sarasota Sports Complex also offer space to accommodate events as diverse as circuses, clinics, concerts, conferences, festivals, meetings, professional events, television broadcasts, and seminars.  More information is available online at http://www.sarasotagov.com/InsideCityGovernment/Content/EdSmith/EdSmithHP.html.