Red Sox Spring Training
2023 First Practice Dates |
Pitchers & Catchers: February 15Position Players: February 20 |
Recent Attendance |
Year | Total | Average |
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 | 172,719 183,928 157,134 156,683 155,458 180,869 167,875 131,053 133,393 134,515 100,398 | 9,596 9,680 9,821 9,793 9,716 9,519 9,326 7,281 7,411 7,473 7,723 |
* The Red Sox trained at City of Palms Park prior to 2012 |
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Spring Training Info
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Boston Red Sox Spring Training |
Area Info - Fort Myers |
JetBlue Park Spring Training home of the Red Sox since 2012Ballpark address: 11581 Daniels Parkway Fort Myers, FL 33913 Opened: 2012 Capacity: 10,823 Send this page to a friend |
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Location
JetBlue Park abuts a 3,000-acre master-planned community called Gateway. Just past the baseball complex is Gateway's sizable office park and high school, while the Fort Myers airport, which is the fifth busiest in the state of Florida, is passed upon the short drive from the nearby Interstate.
Directions
Take I-75 to the Daniels Parkway exit (#131) and then travel east for 2 miles. The stadium will be on your left side and is entered from Daniels Parkway.
Parking
Large grass fields on the west and east sides of the ballpark can collectively hold 3,325 vehicles. The size of each grass field corresponds to three soccer fields, as that's what the two public parking lots become outside of spring training. Alternatively, you can save $5 and park in a much smaller grass field that's about a quarter-mile removed from the ballpark's west entrance and is much easier to get into and out of. To get into it, look for the Southwest Regional Commerce and Trade Center sign. The front of the field it stands in is the alternative option parking lot, which is at the intersection of Rickenbacker and Daniels Parkway.
Cost: $5 (alternate lot) or $10 (stadium lots)
2024 Red Sox Spring Training Schedule (only home games at JetBlue Park are listed) |
* For last season, single game tickets went on sale January 12. Links in calendar are to TicketNetwork inventory. See the full 2024 Red Sox Spring Training schedule
Stadium Information
The Red Sox refer to their new spring training home as JetBlue Park at Fenway South, as the ballpark was designed to replicate Boston's home up north. That was most noticeably accomplished with the installation of a 211-foot long green wall in left field. The Fort Myers version of the Green Monster also features a hand-operated scoreboard, and it's a vintage one at that as JetBlue Park's manual board was the same one affixed to Fenway Park's Green Monster until 2001, after which it was moved to South Dakota for storage. It was retrofitted to reappear in Southwest Florida, where the playing field dimensions are identical to those of the fabled century-old ballyard in Massachusetts. The new place gets its Florida feel thanks to its most original feature: a zig-zaggy canopy style roof that is intended to mimic the area's nearby slanted cypress trees. The white steel truss supported roof shades the majority of fans in the grandstand. An equally generous sized cable-supported roof was the most fan-friendly feature of the ballpark, City of Palms Park, in which the Red Sox trained from 1993-2011. That ballpark, which still stands about 10 miles away, was named for the nickname of Fort Myers, the city which paid to build it. This time, the county financed the winter home for the Red Sox. Lee County doesn't get their name, or any marketing variation of it, on the ballpark's marquee however, as JetBlue Airways officially acquired naming rights on March 29, 2011. The airline is the largest commercial carrier at Boston's Logan Airport and offers non-stop service between there and the Fort Myers airport, which is fittingly located about a mile from JetBlue Park.
Fast Facts
Groundbreaking for the facility took place on August 13, 2010. To acquire the 106 acres of land "Fenway South" was built on, Lee County paid $20 million. That amount represents roughly a quarter of the total price tag for the complex, which is $77.9 million.
The ballpark has multiple entrances and the atmosphere of Boston's Yawkey Way is recreated on the road (Fenway South Drive) that parallels the first base side grandstand. That road becomes an extension of the ballpark's concourse on game day and the "street festival" that takes place there is available only to ticket holders, which is the same style of set-up the Red Sox employ with Yawkey Way, the street that parallels Fenway Park's third base grandstand.
The ballpark's five entrance gates are officially lettered A through E. Gates A and B are on opposite ends of Fenway South Drive. Gate A is the one used by all who park in the east entrance lot. Gate B is one of three accessible for fans who park on the ballpark's west side. Gate C is just to the left of the box office and is the one used by those who buy/pick up tickets there. Gate D is the least used public gate and fans enter it onto the third base concourse. Gate E is well down the left field line, on the way to the practice fields, but it's only open to those with credentials or press passes.
The box office is directly behind home plate, just to the left of the big team store. It has six ticket windows, all of which offer Will Call pick up, and since day of game tickets are rarely available the ticket office's main function is to serve as Will Call.
Unusual for a new ballpark, the concourse is located behind the grandstand, so you can't see the game while visiting the concession stands. The permanent concourse is fully covered behind home plate and partially covered elsewhere.
The location of the bullpens is another homage to Fenway Park, as they are side-by-side just beyond the wall in right-center field. Fans can stand behind the visiting team's bullpen, but ushers keep the walkway behind the Red Sox's clear of bystanders since they would obstruct the view of those seated in the berm and bleachers.
The ballpark has two scoreboards, one a nod to the past, the other symbolic of the present. The old-school scoreboard graces the green wall in left field and is manually operated, while the modern scoreboard stands behind the right field bleachers, where it is the first scoreboard in Red Sox spring training history to feature a video board.
A large team store, simply named Team Store, is housed in the angular structure that extends outward from the stadium and into the plaza behind home plate. Satellite souvenir stands are also plentiful. Five are found on site (three on the concourse, one on the left field deck and another on Fenway South Drive).
Fenway Park traditions that are a part of the JetBlue Park experience include the playing of "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the 8th inning and "Dirty Water" immediately following a Red Sox win.
Displays of Red Sox history are commonplace. On the right field facade near the Pesky Pole are ovals of the team's retired numbers. Five and a half foot tall versions of those numbers are in the plaza outside the ballpark between gates C and D. On the concourse wall behind home plate is a pictorial presentation of a half-century's worth of great Red Sox moments, with a timeline of the team's logos above them. On the facade of the press box are pennants denoting Boston's American League and World Series championship years. Near the backside of the bleachers in right field is a lone red seat, placed on the back of the concourse as a tribute to Ted Williams, whose longest home run hit at Fenway Park is marked there by a red seat that's 502 feet from home plate. While the Fort Myers red seat isn't authentic (or the correct distance from home plate), the statue outside of JetBlue Park of Ted Williams is the original one that stood outside of City of Palms Park during the Red Sox's final five years there.
Practice Fields
The complex contains six full-sized practice fields and a large agility field. Only the agility field is off-limits to fans.
The main practice field (#1) has a chain-link "Monster" fence in left field and the same field dimensions as Fenway and JetBlue Park. It's the practice field that's behind JetBlue Park's Green Monster and is the furthest field from the complex's public entrance.
The organization's minor leaguers practice on fields 3-6, which are co-named in honor of four people who contributed greatly to the Red Sox's player development efforts over the years: Felix Maldonado (#3), Eddie Popowski (#4), Lou Gorman (#5) and Johnny Pesky (#6).
The practice field entrance for fans opens at about 9:30 each morning and generally stays open until major and minor league workouts are done. The gate is next to the batting cage building that is close to the left field corner of JetBlue Park.
Types of Seating
All options are offered and then some, like seating inside and on top of the Green Monster.
Stadium seats: The majority of the stadium's 9,900 fixed seats are of the chair back variety and that's what completely fills every section in the grandstand. Specifically, that's sections 101-119 and sections 200-225, 227 & 229.
Bleachers: Three sections (231, 233, 235) in right-center field, they have a collective capacity of about 400.
Berm: Positioned between the bullpens and bleachers in right-center field, the fairly flat grass-covered hill can hold approximately 350 fans.
Green Monster: There are 258 seats actually inside of the wall and another 120 on top of it
Notes about the seating
The Red Sox dugout is on the third base side. To make sure you're on the home side of the stadium, buy your tickets in any even-numbered section.
An aisle divides the stadium's main grandstand into two halves. All 100-level seats, designated as Box, are below the aisle and all 200-level seats, designated as Grandstand, are above it.
All seats in the grandstand have cup holders.
The bleachers do not have backs.
All seats within or on top of the Green Monster are bar stools that are placed behind countertops.
You can bring blankets and beach towels to sit on in the lawn, but lawn chairs aren't allowed. You don't have to remember to bring sunscreen, as a dispenser on the backside of the Red Sox bullpen dispenses multiple complimentary sun protection factors.
ADA accessible seating and companion seats are found throughout the ballpark, from high end locations (Home Plate Dugout Box, Green Monster) to far away locations (Bleachers, Lawn). Specifically, sections that have accessible seats at their top are 101-104, 106-109, 113, 115, 117, 119, 220, 222 and 224. Atop the Green Monster, there are four accessible seats (#s 27-28, 92-93). Inside the Monster, there are a dozen total accessible seats (two each in the top row of sections M2-M7).
The easy to see through netting behind home plate extends from the midpoints of sections 105-106. The netting protecting the seats inside of the Green Monster takes a little getting used to. It stretches the length of all nine seating sections that are inside of the 211-foot long wall.
Standing room is plentiful, but it's ticketed. Standing room only space is sold in four specific areas: Green Monster, Green Monster Deck, Right Field Picnic Area, and Left Field Deck. No standing is permitted in the grandstand's cross aisle.
Fans are free to roam the ballpark until they reach the Green Monster, which is restricted to ticket holders until after the 7th inning. From the 8th inning on, ushers will let fans into the Monster areas since its concourse is also a direct route to the ballpark's east parking lot.
Sections and rows
Rows for sections in the stadium's lower grandstand range as follows:
1 to 12 in sections 101-104; 4 to 12 in section 105; 1 to 10 in section 106; 5 to 10 in sections 107-109; 5 to 12 in section 110; 1 to 12 in section 111; 4 to 12 in section 112; 1 to 12 in sections 113-114; 1 to 10 in section 115; 2 to 12 in section 116; 1 to 10 in section 117; 8 to 12 in section 118; 5 to 10 in section 119
Rows for sections in the stadium's upper grandstand range as follows:
1 to 11 in sections 200-206; 1 to 13 in sections 207-213; 1 to 11 in section 214; 1 to 13 in section 215; 1 to 11 in section 216; 1 to 13 in sections 217-221; 2 to 13 in section 222; 1 to 13 in section 223; 9 to 13 in section 224; 7 to 13 in sections 225 and 227; 7 to 14 in section 229
Rows for sections with bleacher seats range as follows:
1 to 8 in sections 231, 233, 235
Within the Green Monster, there are three tiers of seats in sections M2-M9. Section M1 has only a single row.
There is just one row of seats on top of the Green Monster. The barstool seat numbers for that row are 1 to 120. Seat 1 is next to the left field foul pole.
Tickets
Sections 101-104 are sold as Home Plate Box.
Sections 105-111 are sold as Field Box.
Sections 112-119 are sold as Left Field or Right Field Box.
Sections 200-213 are sold as Grandstand.
Sections 214-225, 227 & 229 are sold as Left Field or Right Field Grandstand.
Sections 231, 233 & 235 are sold as Reserved Bleachers.
Sections M1-M9 are sold as Green Monster.
Space on the berm is sold as Lawn.
Children age 2 and under do not require a ticket for admission.
Seats to avoid
As far as actual seats go there aren't many. In fact, just two in the grandstand have a partial obstruction. In section 208, those sitting in seat 13 in rows 12 and 13 have to deal with the elevated staircase immediately to the right of their seat. Within the entire ballpark, the back wall of the Red Sox bullpen is responsible for the largest obstruction, as it blocks the view of the field for anybody trying to sit down in the right third of the lawn area. So if you have a Lawn ticket, get to the first-come, first-seated area early, else you'll have to stand on the grass behind where the Red Sox pitchers sit. The lawn area can hold about 350 people, so the first 235 or so to arrive will be happy with their plot of land. Meanwhile, just like in Boston, right field becomes a sun field as late afternoon comes along. So sometimes near a day game's final innings, Right Field Grandstand sections 225, 227 & 229 become the equivalent of certain Right Field Box seats at Fenway Park, where the early evening sun is an annoyance to right fielders and fans sitting in right field alike. Fortunately, far less people are affected in Fort Myers, where usually by the late innings enough people have already left the ballpark that it's easy for any potentially affected fans to relocate themselves to a sun-in-the-eyes-free section of JetBlue Park.
Seats in the shade
Giving seats in the grandstand shade was an important consideration in the design of JetBlue Park and so an "undulating" roof extends the length of most of the main seating bowl. It covers many of the seats in the 200-level sections while the sun's afternoon position ensures that the roof casts shade upon many 100-level seats on the first base side of the grandstand. At game time, all seats in sections 200-215, 217, 219, 221 and 225 are shaded. Rows 5 & up in sections 216, 218 and 220 will be shaded, along with rows 2 & up in section 223. By the typical 1:35 afternoon start, shade below the aisle has trickled down to rows 5 & up in section 101, 8 & up in 102, 4 & up in 103, 10 & up in 104, 8 & up in 105 and 107, 9 & up in 109, 10 & up in 111, and 11 & up in 113. As the day goes on, shade envelops more of the seats in the ballpark. In all, its roof is capable of providing 59,377 square feet of shade coverage.
VIP seating
The Green Monster has seats within it, with tight netting in front of them to allow for balls to bounce correctly off the missing portion of the wall, which is six feet taller than the one in Boston that it replicates. Atop the Monster is a drink rail with bar stool seats. Behind that single row is the Green Monster Deck, a ticketed standing room only space. Above the main grandstand, adjacent to the press box, are five suites. Specified as R1-R5, they are on the first base side of home plate. Down the left field line are three party suites (L1-L3), each of which has a capacity of 30 people. In addition to their indoor areas, all eight of the ballpark's suites are fronted by two rows of balcony-style stadium seating.
Game Day
Two hours prior to game time is when gates open.
Food, drink and bag policy
Outside food and drink are not allowed to be brought through any ballpark gate.
No bags larger than 16" x 16" x 8" are permitted.
Getting autographs
This is not an easy ballpark to get autographs inside of. Your best bet before and after games is at the bottom of sections 112 and 114. Section 112 is closest to the walkway that many players use to get to the clubhouse. That walkway cuts though the grandstand between sections 110 and 112, but of the two only section 112 extends down to field level and near where the players enter the walkway, which is adjacent to the Red Sox dugout. Those that don't enter the clubhouse there use the door that is midway down the green-padded left field line wall. Players going that route can keep their distance from fans in the stands. The best proximity fans will have to Red Sox players is outside of the ballpark in the practice complex, but you have to be back there way before the game begins (as in between 3 and 4 hours before game time) when they'll be on the agility field and perhaps practice field #1. Outside the ballpark and after the game is the best opportunity to get visiting players to sign, as they board their bus near the Gate E marker. A rope will keep fans back a bit from the area players walk through, but it's not far enough away that players have to go too far out of their way to sign for the crowd that gathers. The players will all be wearing regular clothes by the time they board their waiting bus, so they might not be easy to recognize individually sans their numbered uniform.
Unique ballpark fare
Aramark runs the concession stands, just as they did at City of Palms Park. But the offerings they provide here are much better than the below average grub that was sold there. First and foremost, the Fenway Frank finally made its Fort Myers debut. The Massachusetts made hot dog (by Chelsea's Kayem Foods Inc.) gets some New England-style competition from a vendor on the Florida version of Yawkey Way. Sold on Fenway South Drive by Southwest Florida's Pinchers Crab Shack are items like crab nachos, crab rolls, crab cakes and a grouper sandwich. Other locally made food is served alongside the seafood on Fenway South Drive by Rib City (pulled pork and ribs), Norman Love Confections (chocolate) and Dutchkinz (original poffer beignets). All the regular stuff you'd expect to find on the menu is at one of the many concession stands, all of which serve Coca-Cola soft drink products. Multiple brands of draft beer can be found. Bud, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra are on tap everywhere. A beer tent mixed in with the local specialty concessionaries offers a few additional choices. Sam Adams Lager isn't too hard to find either.
Ballpark Area Info
This will be a trendy area one day and the Red Sox are sure to capitalize on it as the team owns the 20 acres of yet-to-be-developed land between the spring training facility and Daniels Parkway. What beat the baseball complex to this part of Lee County was the neighboring master-planned Gateway community and the Southwest Florida International Airport, which opened in 1983. The airport is but a mile from the ballpark so ascending and descending planes are a part of the JetBlue Park backdrop. Much closer to home plate is the Gateway Charter High School (est. 2004) and Westlinks Business Park, which are Fenway South's next door neighbors to the east. Otherwise, much of the immediate area is still barren. But the development that already exists is clearly upscale, which is a marked difference from the mostly downtrodden environs that City of Palms Park was completely surrounded by.
Travelers' notes
The closest Interstate, I-75, is precisely 2 miles from the Fenway South West entrance.
The ballpark's exit (#131) is a major one and has a lot of stuff, which even includes a rest area. It's also the exit for the Southwest Florida International Airport.
Hammond Stadium, spring training home of the Twins, is just 5½ miles away.
For those that wish to see it one more time or for the first time, City of Palms Park, the Red Sox's previous spring training home, is about a dozen miles northwest of JetBlue Park.
Hotels close to JetBlue Park |
Distance | Hotel | Street Address | City/Zip | Phone |
2.2 miles | Travelodge | 13661 Indian Paint Ln | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-561-1117 |
9.6 | Courtyard by Marriott | 4455 Metro Pkwy | Fort Myers, FL 33916 | 239-275-8600 |
10.1 | Hampton Inn & Suites | 4350 Executive Cir | Fort Myers, FL 33916 | 239-931-5300 |
11.0 | Candlewood Suites | 9740 Commerce Center Ct | Fort Myers, FL 33908 | 239-210-7777 |
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Restaurants close to JetBlue Park |
Distance | Restaurant | Street Address | City/Zip | Phone |
1.3 miles | Boulevard Deli | 12220 Towne Lake Dr | Fort Myers, FL 33913 | 239-561-7444 |
1.4 | Dunkin' Donuts | 13000 Treeline Ave | Fort Myers, FL 33913 | 239-225-1257 |
1.6 | Cracker Barrel | 10090 Daniels Pkwy | Fort Myers, FL 33913 | 239-561-6461 |
2.1 | Waffle House | 9420 Daniels Pkwy | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-768-9595 |
2.1 | Denny's | 9340 Marketplace Rd | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-768-5488 |
2.5 | Stevie Tomato's Sports Page | 9510 Marketplace Rd | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-939-7211 |
2.6 | Beef 'O' Brady's | 13650 Fiddlesticks Blvd | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-768-9798 |
2.6 | New China | 13650 Fiddlesticks Blvd | Fort Myers, FL 33912 | 239-561-3588 |
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Airports close to JetBlue Park |
Distance | Airport | Airport Code |
0.95 miles | Southwest Florida International (Fort Myers) | RSW |
75.4 | Sarasota Bradenton International | SRQ |
106.0 | Miami International | MIA |
110.0 | Tampa International | TPA |
130.0 | Orlando International | MCO |
Contact Us With Any Questions About Red Sox Spring Training
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