Spring Training Online

If You Go ...

Sarasota is only 65 miles outside of Tampa-St. Pete and close to Bradenton, so you're in the midst of spring-training nirvana: Spring-training venues that are within easy driving distance of Sarasota include Lakeland (Detroit Tigers), Tampa (New York Yankees), Clearwater (Philadelphia Phillies), Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays). In addition, the Baltimore Orioles' minor leaguers practice at Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road, Sarasota. You can expect your trip to spring training to be filled with lots of baseball in the Tampa area.

Outside of baseball spring training, Sarasota is best known as the former winter home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. John Ringling gave the money to build the Ringling Museum of Art, which features an outstanding collection 17th-century Baroque paintings, including pieces by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Velazquez. Ed Smith Stadium is about a mile from downtown Sarasota, which offers its own set of restaurants and attractions. The Sarasota Jungle Gardens features a wide assortments of tropical birds and animals; it, too, is close to downtown Sarasota. And, of course, there's the seashore: Sarasota County boasts 35 miles of beaches and six barrier islands. 

Tampa/St. Pete, of course, has its own set of attractions. If you're bringing the kids, a possible stop is Busch Gardens, a theme part built around a zoo, various rides, and a water park. I will confess it's been many years since I've visited Busch Gardens -- in fact, Anheuser-Busch still owned the park when I last visited -- so I can't wholeheartedly recommend Busch Gardens.

Those more in a mood to party will want to head to Ybor City, Tampa's Latin Quarter. It's a gentrified area that was once home to cigar factories that's now a shopping and entertainment mecca. Ybor City's larger buildings can be seen a ways away, and the district -- located on 7th Avenue East between 15th and 20th streets -- is well-served with many road signs showing the way. Notable nightlife spots include Centro Ybor, which houses several clubs and restaurants. At night Ybor City gets pretty rowdy, as the music clubs bring them in. Oh, and you can still find hand-rolled cigars in Ybor City as well.

Also worth a trip is the Pier, located on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, The Pier features a five-story inverted pyramid with giant tubes bubbling with fish and creatures from the sea, complete with a second-floor aquarium filled with native and tropical fish and sharks. You'll also find educational exhibits from the Great Explorations Museum and the historic H.M.S. Bounty docked pierside.

For the truly surreal, there's the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Pete. Get it? Surreal? Good.

If you're looking for more excitement, you can head into Orlando, which is 75 miles up I-4 from Tampa Bay. Spring-training venues in Orlando include Champion Stadium (Atlanta Braves) and Kissimmee (Houston Astros).

Where to Stay: There's really nothing within walking distance of Ed Smith Stadium: since the stadium is less than two miles away from Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, any of the airport hotels -- Comfort Inn, Howard Johnson, Hampton Inn -- will do you fine. But you could very easily stay in Tampa or St. Pete and head down to Sarasota for the day.

Flying In: Sarasota-Bradenton Airport is obviously the closest airport to Sarasota and the most convenient. It's a small, regional airport served by Northwest Airlines, Continental, ATA, Delta, US Airways, and a few smaller regional airlines.

The largest airport closest to Sarasota is Tampa International Airport and the most convenient. It's not the biggest airport in the world and is easy to navigate. All the major airlines fly into Tampa.