Osceola County Stadium

Osceola County Stadium
Location 631 Heritage Park Way
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Coordinates 28°17′54″N 81°21′50″W / 28.29833°N 81.36389°W / 28.29833; -81.36389
Owner Osceola County
Operator Florida Fire Frogs
Capacity 5,300
Field size Left field: 325 feet (99 m)
Center field: 405 feet (123 m)
Right field: 325 feet (99 m)
Surface Grass
Construction
Opened 1984
Renovated 2003
Tenants

Osceola Astros (FSL) (1985–1994)
Kissimmee Cobras (FSL) (1995–2000)
A-Sun Tournament (1998–99)
Gulf Coast League Astros (GCL) (2009–2016)
Houston Astros (MLB) (spring training) (1985–2016)

Florida Fire Frogs (FSL) (2017–present)

Osceola County Stadium is a baseball park located in Kissimmee, Florida. It is the home stadium of the Florida Fire Frogs Class A minor league baseball team of the Florida State League. It served as the spring training home of the Houston Astros and their minor league affiliates from 1985 to 2016.[1] The stadium holds 5,300 people, the smallest seating capacity of any Grapefruit League stadium. It has previously served as the home field for the Class A Florida State League's Kissimmee Cobras (1995–2000) and Osceola Astros (1985–1994).

Renovations

The Osceola County Stadium and Complex underwent a significant renovation in 2003 at a price of US$18.4 million[2] The renovation increased seating capacity, upgraded the press box, improved the clubhouses, and added "Autograph Alley" which is a popular feature of spring training events.

End of lease

The Astros' lease with the ballpark ended in 2017. On November 9, 2015, groundbreaking commenced for a new spring training facility for both the Astros and Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach.[3]

Other uses

The Osceola County Complex was also home of the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring where many hopeful future major league umpires went to learn the trade. Additionally, it hosts numerous amateur baseball events throughout the remainder of the year in conjunction with the United States Specialty Sports Association, Triple Crown Sports, World Baseball Federation, and Promotion Sports.

The venue hosted the 1998 and 1999 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournaments, won by Florida International and Jacksonville, respectively.[4]

Osceola County Stadium hosted the Johnsonville American Cornhole League (ACL) Championships in 2018.

References

  1. ↑ Cavender, Chris. "Welcome to the Osceola County Stadium!". OsceolaStadium.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  2. ↑ SpringTrainingOnline.com "Houston Astros." Spring training Online. Retrieved on 13 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Bernadeau, Patrick (November 9, 2015). "Astros, Nationals getting new spring training ballpark". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Atlantic Sun Recordbook - Baseball" (PDF). AtlanticSun.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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