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Minnesota Twins 2023 Spring Training – If You Go …

Minnesota Twins 2023 spring training means spending plenty of time on the Gulf Coast and Fort Myers. Here’s what to expect.

HAMMOND STADIUM
Capacity 7,500
Year Opened 1991
Dimensions 330L, 404C, 330R
Surface Grass
Local Airport Fort Myers
Ticket Prices To be announced.
Tickets on Sale To be announced.
Ticket Line 612/33-TWINS; 800/33-TWINS
Ticket Web Site twinsbaseball.com
Address 14100 Six Miles Cypress Pkwy., Ft. Myers, FL 33912
Directions From I-75, take the Daniels Road exit west 2 miles to Six Miles Cypress Parkway; go south and the stadium is on the right.

Minnesota Twins 2023 Spring Training: If You Go …

Ft. Myers is in southwestern Florida, far away from the madding crowds of Tampa or Orlando. In fact, it’s 125 miles up the coast to Tampa/St. Pete and slightly less than than to Bradenton (spring-training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates) or Sarasota (spring-training home of the Cincinnati Reds), so you’re quite a ways down the coast. The Boston Red Sox train near downtown Fort Myers, while the Tampa Bay Rays train at nearby Charlotte Sports Park and the Atlanta Braves a little father afield at CoolToday Park in North Port.

We would recommend doing what many spring-training fans end up doing: filling the day with baseball and spend the rest of the time relaxing, Indeed, it’s the relative isolation and scenic lakeshore stressed by the tourism types that make spring training on the Gulf Coast such a delight. It’s a tropical area, with relatively unspoiled beaches on the Gulf Coast.

Hammond Stadium

Sanibel and Captiva Islands are known for their long expanses of white beaches and mangrove forests, with many biking and hiking trails. Over half of the islands are preserved as wildlife sanctuaries. You could do worse than spending the afternoon at a Boston Red Sox or Minnesota Twins home game and then heading to Sanibel Island for cocktails and a lovely seafood dinner. Yes, there’s a toll for Sanibel Island and you’ll need to make it back to the mainland before bridge access is closed, but there’s a lot to be said for partaking in the Sanibel Island lifestyle, if only for a day.

Fort Myers is also known as the former winter home of both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Their estates are preserved and available for viewing.

You should also make a pilgrimage to Terry Park Stadium, which is possibly the oldest surviving spring-training stadium in Florida. It’s just east of Ft. Myers and still heavily used by amateur teams. Lee County Parks and Recreation Director John Yarbrough wants to spruce up the 77-year-old structure in a historically authentic fashion and put a museum in the old ticket office illustrating the history of spring training in Southwest Florida and its impact on the area’s development and character. It hasn’t been used for major league spring training since 1987 (when the Kansas City Royals trained in Fort Myers); it was built originally as the spring-training home of the Philadelphia Athletics, owned and managed by Connie Mack.

Where to Stay: The Twins tend to move around when it comes to spring homes; in recent years the team has stayed at the local Hilton Garden Inn and the  Fort Myers Radisson Inn, located a couple of miles away from the complex, during spring training. That may or may not be a draw for you.

As this facility is on the outskirts of Fort Myers, there are no hotels within walking distance; the closest hotels are two miles away, near the airport. These include the Holiday Inn Select and Homewood Suites.

Otherwise, there are many budget-price hotels in the general area, including Fairfield Inn, La Quinta, Hampton Inn, Sleep Inn, Country Inn and Suites, and Comfort Inn.

Flying In: Fort Myers is home to South Florida International Airport and is serviced by most major airlines, including Delta, JetBlue, United, and American.

You may also want to consider flying into Tampa and then driving to Fort Myers if the fare to Tampa is significantly cheaper. The drive is 125 miles, but as Tampa is home to several other spring-training facilities, you can combine several visits.

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