Progress Energy Park
Encyclopedia
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located on the downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is named in honor of Al Lang, a former mayor of St. Petersburg who helped to bring professional baseball to the city. The facility was the spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
home of several different Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams and the regular season home of several Florida State League
Florida State League
The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...
minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
teams over the past few decades, most recently from 1998 to 2008 by the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
and their class-A affiliate, the St. Pete Devil Rays. Vacant since the spring of 2008, it was announced that FC Tampa Bay of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League (2010)
The North American Soccer League is a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico which began league play on April 9, 2011. It has been provisionally sanctioned as the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, behind Major League Soccer in the...
would use the park as their home stadium for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
History
The "St. Petersburg Athletic Park" at the current site of Progress Energy Park was the spring home for the Boston BravesAtlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
from 1923
1923 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants -Awards and honors:*League Award**Babe Ruth, New York Yankees, OF-Statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:...
until after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, hosting such baseball greats such as Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
, Stan Musial
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals . Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection , and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball...
, and others during that time. The first incarnation of the current field was built for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in 1947
1947 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 8 at Wrigley Field: American League, 2-1-Other champions:*First College World Series: California...
. The Cardinals beat the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
in the dedication game on March 13, 1947. There was a major rebuild in 1976
1976 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees ; Johnny Bench, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Veterans Stadium: National League, 7-1; George Foster, MVP-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Naranjeros de Hermosillo...
brought the ballpark to its current configuration. A succession of teams used the facility until the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
started play in 1998
1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the AL East division and finished the season with a record of 63-99. Their manager was Larry Rothschild....
and moved into the stadium for their spring games. The Rays were the first major league team to train in the same city in which they played regular season games in almost 90 years - their summer home of Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
is just over a mile to the west across downtown St. Petersburg.
When the Rays began play in Al Lang Stadium in 1998, the naming rights to the park were purchased by local utility Florida Power for $150,000 per year, rechristening the site as "Florida Power Park at Al Lang Field." When Florida Power's name was changed to Progress Energy in 2003, the stadium's official name was also changed.
Progress Energy Park was home to many minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
teams over the years, most recently the Class-A Florida State League
Florida State League
The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...
affiliates for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
and then the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
. The last minor league tenant was the St. Petersburg Devil Rays, who last played at the stadium in 2000
2000 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion - New York Yankees*Postseason - October 3 to October 26Click on any series score to link to that series' page....
.
End of an era
In 20052005 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros to win the 2005 World Series.*2005 also marked the inaugural season of the Washington Nationals, who relocated from Montreal and were formerly known as the Expos....
, the Tampa Bay Rays announced plans to move their spring training home to Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte, Florida
Port Charlotte is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 46,451 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, about 90 minutes south of St. Petersburg. Then, on November 9, 2007, Rays President Matt Silverman proposed a plan to build a new $450 million Rays Ballpark
Rays Ballpark
Rays Ballpark was the name used in project documents for a ballpark in the current location of Progress Energy Park on the Tampa Bay waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays as a replacement for Tropicana Field....
on the site to be ready in 2012.
These developments left Progress Energy Park without a regular tenant and with an uncertain future. The Rays played the last spring training ballgame at the stadium on March 28, 2008.
The Rays shelved plans for a waterfront stadium in late 2008 and began a process of considering other locations, further clouding the future of Progress Energy Park. Meanwhile, for the first time in decades, the old ballpark sat idle during both spring training and the baseball regular season in 2009 and 2010. During spring 2011, the stadium will host a series of exhibition contests between international baseball clubs, including three contests versus MLB teams.
See also
- RawhideRawhide (1938 film)Rawhide is a 1938 western film starring Lou Gehrig and made by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. The movie was directed by Ray Taylor and produced by Sol Lesser from a screenplay by Jack Natteford and Daniel Jarrett. The cinematography was by Allen Q. Thompson...
, a 1938 feature film starring Lou GehrigLou GehrigHenry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
, premiered in St. Petersburg by Mayor Al Lang - Al Lang Field featured prominently as the setting for the first 10 minutes of the 1955 motion picture Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command (film)Strategic Air Command is a 1955 American film starring James Stewart and June Allyson, and directed by Anthony Mann. Released by Paramount Pictures, it was the first of four films that depicted the role of the Strategic Air Command in the Cold War era....
, starring James StewartJames StewartJames Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
and June AllysonJune AllysonJune Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...
.
External links
- Progress Energy Park, City of St. Petersburg official website
- History of spring training in St. Petersburg by St. Petersburg TimesSt. Petersburg TimesThe St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
- Picture tour
- Spring training guide to Al Lang stadium
- Progress Energy Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues