Fort Myers magazine 108604 SWFL brochure - web | Page 21

When sports fans hear
about Fort Myers, they think
Spring Training.
True, the Boston Red Sox and
Minnesota Twins are headliners, but
the sports scene in the City of Palms
and Lee County teems with year-
round activities for spectators and
participants. Hockey, swimming and
kayaking are just three of the draws.
Lee County Sports Development,
a county department charged with
handling sports tourism, reports that
since its inception in 2003, more than
1,000 sporting events have happened
here.
“Amateur sports events have become
a very important tourism generator for
greater Fort Myers and Lee County,
especially for the inland hotels and
restaurants,” said Jeff Mielke, director
of the Lee County Sports Development
office.
Of course, sports and
Fort Myers have a long
history together.
The area’s first baseball team
organized only 30 years after the end
of the Civil War. Then in 1925, the
Philadelphia Athletics became the first
major league club to train in Fort Myers.
The team was managed by Cornelius
McGillicuddy, better known as Connie
Mack, grandfather of Lee County’s
former U.S. Senator by the same name.
The A’s trained for 12 years here,
then the Cleveland Indians made Fort
Myers home for spring. In 1955, the
Pittsburgh Pirates arrived. The Kansas
City Royals came in 1968 and stayed 20
years. All played at Terry Park, just east
of downtown.
Today, the Twins play in CenturyLink
Sports Complex in south Fort Myers.
When it opened in 1991, Southern
Living magazine voted it “Best New
Stadium.” The stadium is part of an
80-acre complex. The Class “A” Fort
Myers Miracle – affiliated with the
Twins – play throughout the summer
at the stadium. The complex is ongoing
a $42 million renovation that will once
again make it one of the premier spring
training facilities in the country.
The new Red Sox facility, JetBlue
Park, opened for Spring Training 2012.
The stadium field is built to the same
specifications as Fenway Park in Boston,
including the “Green Monster.” It also
has the original manual scoreboard
that was used at Fenway.
The stadium has the seating capacity
just shy of 10,000. In addition to the
stadium field, the site also includes six
practice fields. The grass parking lots
double as soccer fields for tournaments.
The $78 million stadium is off Daniels
Parkway.
The project is funded by federally
subsidized bonds and will be repaid
through funds from the tax tourists pay
for short-term rental and hotel stays.
JetBlue Park replaced City of Palms
Park, the Red Sox downtown Fort
Myers spring training home since 1993.
Baseball generates much activity
besides spring training. Events such as
the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, Roy
Hobbs World Series and Perfect Game
keep the baseball facilities busy the rest
of the year.
Then there’s the rest of the
sports story.
Lee County hosted the USA
Swimming Open Water National
Championships for five consecutive
years on Fort Myers Beach, while
the Florida Senior Games called Lee
County home for the same stretch
of time. The North American Roller
Hockey Championships bring nearly
200 teams from around the globe to
Germain Arena every few years.
Spectator
sport
opportunities
include Florida Gulf Coast University’s
top notch athletic program. Now
a NCAA DI institution and part of
the Atlantic Sun conference, FGCU
constantly hosts sporting events at
its campus just south of Fort Myers.
The Eagles men’s basketball team was
the first ever 15-seed to advance to
the Sweet 16, earning Fort Myers the
nickname “Dunk City”.
Ice hockey spectators can enjoy
the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, which
played its inaugural season in 1998
at Germain Arena, just south of
Fort Myers near Florida Gulf Coast
University. The Everblades have earned
a post-season berth in all twelve seasons
in the ECHL culminating in becoming
the 2012 Kelly Cup Champions!
And although many people canoe
and kayak to get away from crowds,
the annual Calusa Blueway Paddling
www.fortmyers.org 19
Festival brings water lovers from the
Southeast, Midwest and Northeast
each fall to celebrate Lee County’s
190-mile marked paddling trail, called
the Calusa Blueway. New in 2011 were
two competitive events: The 10-mile
Calusa Classic for surf skis, sea kayaks
and outriggers and the 4-mile Calusa
Classic for Stand-Up Paddleboarders.
SPORTS &
RECREATION
Baseball strikes twice each year during
spring training when the Boston Red
Sox arrive at City of Palms Park and the
Minnesota Twins head to CenturyLink
Sports Complex at Lee County Sports
Complex.
From April to September,
the Fort Myers Miracle Baseball Club,
the professional Class A affiliate of the
Minnesota Twins, play at the Lee County
Sports Complex, in a family atmosphere
with affordable prices.
Boston Red Sox
1-877-733-7699-Tickets
1-617-226-6000-Executive Office
www.Boston.redsox.mlb.com
Minnesota Twins
1-800-338-9467-Tickets
1-612-659-3400-Executive Office
www.minnesota.twins.mlb.com
Fort Myers Miracle Baseball Club
768-4210
www.milb.com
14400 Six Mile Cypress Pkwy.
Florida Everblades
948-7825
www.floridaeverblades.com
Germain Arena, Exit 123 off I-75, Estero
Southwest Florida’s professional ice
hockey team plays October- April.
Germain Arena
948-7825
www.germainarena.com
I-75 Exit 123, Estero
Home to the Florida Everblades
and Florida Firecats. Hosts special
events. Ice and in-line skating open
to the public.
Sam Fleishman Sports Complex
1750 Matthew Drive
The City of Fort Myers’ premier facility
for local and regional athletics, for all
age groups. The complex includes
ball fields, tennis courts, a swimming
pool and kiddie pool, a playground,
shaded picnic areas, and a walking
trail.