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CHAIN OF LAKES PARK Capacity 7,000 Year Opened 1966; renovated in 1993 Dimensions 340L, 425C, 340R Surface Grass Winter Haven office 863/293-3900. Website indians.mlb.com. Local Airport Orlando or Tampa. Advance Ticket Prices VIP Box Seats, $23; Lower Box Seats, $16; Upper Box Seats, $14; Bleacher Reserved, $11; Outfield Bleacher, $8; Berm & Disabled Seating, $7 On Sale Now Ticket Line 1-866-48-TRIBE. Tickets by Mail Specify the number of tickets with the date (plus $3.00 handling/order) and mail to: The Cleveland Indians - Winter Haven Chain of Lakes Park 500 Cletus Allen Drive Winter Haven, FL 33880. Address 500 Cletus Allen Rd. (off of Cypress Gardens Blvd.), Winter Haven. Directions Winter Haven is 50 miles south of Orlando and 50 miles each of Tampa. Chain of Lakes Park is located near the corner of Hwy. 17 and Cypress Gardens Blvd. If you're coming south on Hwy. 17, turn left at Cypress Gardens Blvd.; the ballpark is on your left. If you're coming west on Cypress Gardens Blvd., the stadium will be on your left.

At one time Winter Haven was a true tourism mecca, with Cypress Gardens attracting visitors from all over the nation. It didn't attract attention with roller coasters or movie-themed thrill rides; instead, Cypress Gardens featured lush gardens, wildlife exhibits and paddle-boat rides to satisfy the traveler. True, it was a glorified roadside attraction, but it was the Florida Experience.

Cypress Gardens is now back, and reportedly better than ever. True, it's been turbocharged somewhat with new rides to appeal to the younger crowd. But the Florida atmosphere is still present and worth a visit.

Good thing it reopened, because it's was one of the only ways to kill time in Winter Haven between games. You may want to consider heading into Orlando (Walt Disney World is only 30 miles up I-4) or Tampa. Spring-training venues that are within easy driving distance of Winter Haven include Orlando (Atlanta Braves), Kissimmee (Houston Astros), Lakeland (Detroit Tigers), Tampa (New York Yankees), Clearwater (Philadelphia Phillies), Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates), and St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay Devil Rays).

Where to Stay: The Indians stay at the Holiday Inn of Winter Haven. That may or may not be a draw for you.

Otherwise, many of the leading budget-level hotel chains are represented in Winter Haven: Hampton Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Budget Inn, and Best Western. You can find a fuller listing here. You may be tempted to stay in Orlando and drive down, but be warned that I-4 can be very congested and it's a pretty bad stretch of road.

Flying In: Winter Haven is 50 miles from Tampa and 50 miles from Tampa along I-4, so you could easily fly into either airport.

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