Coastal Florida Sports Park

Coordinates: 28°21′47″N 80°48′10″W / 28.363004°N 80.802861°W / 28.363004; -80.802861

Coastal Florida Sports Park
Former names Cocoa Expo Sports Center
Location 500 Friday Road
Cocoa, FL 32926
Capacity 5,000
Tenants

Houston Astros (MLB) (spring training) (1964–1984)
Cocoa Rookie League (1964)
Cocoa Astros, FSL (1965–1972, 1977)
Cocoa Astros, Florida East Coast League (1972)
Cocoa Expos, Florida East Coast League (1972)

Florida Marlins (MLB) (spring training) (1993)

The Coastal Florida Sports Park (formerly known as Cocoa Expo Sports Center) is a multi-sport complex located in Cocoa, Florida, where athletes of all level can practice and play in facilities fit for the pros and truly improve their ability to compete in the game and move to the next level. Coastal Florida has:

  • Eleven (11) lighted NCAA baseball fields
    • Including a newly renovated 5,000-seat MLB stadium with 50 ft Jumbotron scoreboard
    • Eight (8) football / soccer / lacrosse fields
  • A 35,000 square foot, $5 million training facility which includes:
    • A 17,000 square foot indoor, multi-purpose field for football, soccer, or a baseball infield
    • 14 indoor batting cages
    • A 15,000 square foot weight room with free weights and training machines
  • Onsite player suites
  • A recreations hall with two (2) 32-foot HDTVs and six (6) 70-inch HDTVs

Coastal Florida Sports Park will soon begin construction on a 100,000 square foot gymnasium that will have eleven (11) NBA / NCAA / FIBA-regulation hardwood basketball courts, which can be converted into fourteen (14) volleyball courts.[1]

CES Academy

Coastal Florida Sports Park has also created a college sports preparatory academy, CES Academy. CES Academy is a sports academy and boarding school that will prepare its student-athletes to become successful, confident, and responsible individuals through athletics, academics, and character development.[2]

History

Cocoa Expo Sports Center was originally built in 1964 by the city of Cocoa as the spring training home for Major League Baseball's Houston Astros (then the Colt 45's). The Houston Astros called the Cocoa Expo their Spring home for 21 seasons from 1964–1984.

It was purchased by private ownership in 1984 and turned into a center for amateur sports. The complex, consisting of 70 acres (28 ha),[3] has the original 5,000 seat Cocoa Stadium and 6 additional baseball fields, four multi-purpose athletic fields, a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) arena that can accommodate three basketball courts and four volleyball courts, a 100-room air-conditioned athletes dormitory, cafeteria and meeting space. The 40 acres (16 ha) main section of the property is valued at $3.5 million according to the county appraiser's records.[3]

The center again hosted Major League Baseball in the spring of 1993 when the Florida Marlins played their inaugural spring training season games in Cocoa Stadium. In addition to Major League Baseball, the complex has been home to the Joe Brinkman Umpire School, Clint Hurdle's Big League Experience Camp, youth baseball, soccer, basketball and volleyball tournaments and is the home field for the Cocoa Expos professional women's soccer team.

The center went into receivership in 2011. The state fair, which had been held there for a number of years, moved to another Brevard site.[4]

In the Summer of 2012, with a great deal of support from private sports investors, the Cocoa Expo Sports Center is received a long-overdue renovation of the entire complex. From the stadium and baseball fields to the dorms and indoor arena, the complex has received a $40 Million overhaul and is again known as one of the premier sports complexes in the entire country.

References

  1. ↑ "The Premier Sports Complex for Baseball, Basketball, and Volleyball | Cocoa Expo Sports Center". www.cocoaexpo.com. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  2. ↑ "Sports Academy & Boarding School | CES Academy in Cocoa, Florida". cesacademy.org. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  3. 1 2 Basu, Rebecca (8 February 2011). "Cocoa Expo investor, bank head to court". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A.
  4. ↑ October 7, 2011 Dave Berman
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