Charlotte Sports Park

Port Charlotte, Florida: Charlotte Sports Park is a baseball stadium located in Port Charlotte, Florida. The 7,000 spectator stadium is home to the Tampa Bay Rays and Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Originally built in 1988, Ranger Stadium was the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Florida State League Charlotte Rangers. The complex saw many historical moments in baseball during its time with the Rangers including the signing of Alex Rodriguez, Michael Jordan playing baseball for the White Sox and the announcement of Nolan Ryan’s retirement. At the end of the 2001 season, the Texas Rangers determined that the stadium could no longer accommodate their operations and moved the team to Arizona.

The stadium was renamed Charlotte County Stadium following the relocation of the Rangers. The stadium remained without a professional team for several years. During this time, it played host to amateur baseball, concerts and fairs.

In 2007, the stadium became home to sanction baseball once again. This time the semi-pro Charlotte County Redfish called the stadium home. They played at Charlotte County Stadium for one year before the league went bankrupt.

The stadium underwent a $27 million dollar refurbishment in 2008-2009 to make way for their new tenant, the Tampa Bay Rays. During the remodel, the stadium was gutted to the concrete framework and rebuilt. New seating, outfield berms, the baseball boardwalk, new clubhouse facilities and more were added. Following the remodel, the stadium took the name Charlotte Sports Park.

Professional baseball returned to Charlotte Sports Park in the 2009 season. The Tampa Bay Rays played their first spring training game in the newly renovated stadium on February 25, 2009 against the Cincinnati Reds. The stadium is also home to the minor league Charlotte Stone Crabs, an A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, who played their inaugural game at Charlotte Sports Park on April 9, 2009. The Gulf Coast Rays play their games at the complex as well with day games played on the back fields and night games in the stadium.

For pictures of the stadium visit my Charlotte Sport Park photo page. For pictures from the teams that call Charlotte Sports Park home, visit the Tampa Bay Rays or Charlotte Stone Crabs photo pages.