I’ve bene to the Jays’ Spring Training in Dunedin, Florida, which is in the northern suburbs of St. Petersburg (and therefore more or less west of Tampa) on the Gulf coast. It’s immediately north of Clearwater, which is where the Phillies strike camp, which is why the Jays and Phillies play in spring training so often; they don’t even have to take a bus.
Getting to and from the stadium is an unadulterated nightmare. I cannot emphasize how horrible it is. Tampa/St Pete’s is one of the worst cities in America for traffic, the stadium is right downtown away from any major road, and Dunedin is served by no freeways, so if you’re planning on getting there from anywhere, add an hour.
Once you get to downtown Dunedin it’s a charming, lovely little town. My daughter and I parked six blocks away and walked hand in hand down Douglas Ave, just enjoying the summer day. It was worth braving the traffic.
When we got there I was fairly impressed. Toronto’s stadium is called Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, which is a lame ass name - they should eat the sponsorship money already and rename it Tom Cheek Stadium - but it’s a reasonably good ballpark. It’s concrete and blue, which is grimly reminiscent of being inside the Rogers Centre, but it’s well laid out, comfortable, and the staff and service are top notch. The games can be very busy - it it’s a divisional rival, or the Phillies, you need to buy in advance - but that adds to the fun and there’s rarely much of a wait at the snack stands. The atmosphere is friendly and the fans very into lengthy baseball discussions. At least 30-40% are Canadian tourists. By all accounts, it’s one of the better Spring Training facilities.
The Jays were playing the Orioles and thumped them pretty badly. The thing about Spring Training games is that since they don’t matter, you sort of have to enjoy other aspects of the game, like seeing minor leaguers and judging their abilities. Unfortunately we were there towards the end of camp so both teams were fielding lineups largely made of the guys they were planning on using on Opening Day, so it was like a real game except for the part where it didn’t count, which takes some of the tension away. Still, you’re sitting there in March in the Florida sunshine eating hot dogs with your little girl and watching baseball. What’s not to like?
One tip if you’re in Dunedin; sit high on the first base side. The stands are so small that right handed batters will very frequently foul balls over the first base grandstand, and they go plunging into the parking area. (Tip #2: DO NOT PARK NEXT TO THE STADIUM. It’s handicapped parking, predictably used mostly by old people. Even if you think you need it, suck it up and suffer a walk. Your car will thank you.) At least two dozen balls were fouled back and eight or ten cars hit. There were three-four entrepreneurial kids spaced out in the parking lot waiting for the foul balls, running after them like maniacs, I’d presume to use them or sell them. The fans enjoyed watching the car damage and chases; it was a fun little sideshow.
After we left the traffic was worse than ever. I took my daughter to Clearwater Beach rather than returning to where we were staying (near Orlando) and it was bad going there, bad coming back, bad everywhere. So if you wanna see Gulf Coast games, stay on the Gulf Coast. But it’s a blast.