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Space Coast Stadium
/ Brevard County Manatees / Washington Nationals
There's no mistaking Space Coast Stadium as you approach it
from the north or the south. Looming over the Florida
landscape, the stadium seems like a spaceship that's
landing in the middle of nowhere. It sits above the flat
Florida landscape, shining brightly with its white exterior
and silver grandstand.
But the ballpark won't be in the middle of nowhere for much
long, as the nearby Viera development continues to grow at a
brisk pace (it was slow going heading north of the ballpark to
the freeway, as construction vehicles clogged the roads) and other major retail expansion occurs
(several big-box retailers recently signed agreements to build
new stores south of the ballpark along the freeway) throughout
the Space Coast thanks its location between Orlando and Cocoa.
This potential must make the owners of the Brevard County
Manatees -- the primary resident of the stadium -- just drool
with anticipation for the years to come. The Manatees already
are benefiting from the population boom: the team is already
one of the top draws in the Florida State League, and there should be more growth
in coming years as the area become more populous.
Space Coast Stadium was originally built to be the spring-training home of the Florida Marlins, which explains the teal-colored seats throughout the ballpark. (Technically, the Marlins still hold a lease on the stadium and are subleasing it to the Nationals for spring training.) Past the color of the seats, however, there's a definitely space theme to the ballpark in an homage to nearby Kennedy Space Center. When a Manatee player hits a home run, smoke spews from a baseball rising above the scoreboard like a rocket lifting off to space. The stadium signage is designed to look futuristic as well; contrast all the futurism with one of the few hand-operated scoreboards in the minor leagues. Of course, until the nearby area grows enough, Space Coast Stadium is overkill for the Brevard County Manatees (although the team did have a crowd of 5,000+ this season), so it must also be judged as a suitable spring-training facility. At first glance you'd assume that this ballpark is in the middle of nowhere. Not quite: despite the appearances, the ballpark is only a mile or two from I-95 and about an hour from Orlando via the Bee Line Highway. The ballpark is also about 10 miles from Cocoa Beach, which features a slew of hotels along the waterfront and near the freeway. If you're headed to spring training, a trip to Space Coast Stadium isn't a chore at all; you could easily take in two games by combining a visit to Space Coast Stadium with another game at Cracker Jack Stadium (the spring-training home of the Atlanta Braves), Osceola County Stadium (the spring-training home of the Houston Astros) or even Holman Stadium (the spring-training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers). In these situations, it makes sense to stay in the greater Orlando area, as the Florida freeway system makes it easy to drive between these four stadiums.
If you go to a regular-season Manatees game, you'll want to sit in the main grandstand in a box seat: your back will be to the sun and the view is decent. If you go to spring-training games, try and sit on the first-base side of the grandstand: your view will be good and you'll avoid staring in the sun. Avoid the right-field bleachers in the day: you'll be hot and staring into the sun.
Concessions
For the Kids
Parking
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