The first game at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is scheduled for Feb. 28, and it should be ready to open on that date — but just barely, as the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals prep for 2017 spring training in West Palm Beach.
The practice fields will be ready for use when players report around Feb. 13 or so, but work on the ballpark is expected to go on right up to opening day, according to Astros General Counsel Giles Kibbe and Nationals partner Art Fuccillo. From the Palm Beach Post:
Representatives of both baseball teams told the county commission Tuesday morning they’re racing to the finish, no thanks to Hurricane Matthew, which required work crews to spend two days securing the 161-acre Haverhill Road site and two more days getting it unwrapped and back in action….
The public multipurpose fields and city park, on the south end of the site, also will be complete by then, Kibbe said.
Commissioner Shelley Vana said she’s hoping the Atlanta Braves will be impressed enough by the $148.5 million complex to also build a stadium, at John Prince Park in Lake Worth. Nearby businesses are hoping for that, she said.
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