New York Mets

Pre-season practice policies:  Workouts are open to the public (before and during the season) at Digital Domain Park, and typically run between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.


Stadium Information
Parking: $5 per car
Stadium built in 1988, renovated in 2003.
Dimensions: 338 feet down left field foul line, 338 feet to right and 410 feet to center.
Seating Capacity: 7,000
Mets 23rd Spring Training at this location.


New York Mets Spring Training Location History
1962-87 St. Petersburg (Al Lang Field)
1988-2010 Port St. Lucie (Thomas J. White Stadium/Digital Domain Park)

Attending a game at Digital Domain Park
The Mets trained in St. Petersburg from their inception in 1962 until 1987 and shared Al Lang Stadium with the St. Louis Cardinal. With the offer of its own stadium, the Mets moved to Port St. Lucie's Thomas J. White Stadium, now Digital Domain Park, for the 1988 season.

The stadium was built in the late 1980s, before the amenities of the current day stadium were commonplace. In August, 2003, after negotiating with the Mets, St. Lucie County commissioners approved a 16-year contract for the team to continue spring training in Port St. Lucie complete with an $8.7 million renovation job.

Getting into the facility has always been among the smoothest in Spring Training, and that should be even better with the renovations as elevators will now also be able to take fans to most seating areas. There is a new picnic area this year (where the left field bleachers once stood). Children's activities are expected to on-site during the games. Like the Big Apple, there's a large Jumbo-Tron screen beyond the outfield fence -- one of the biggest in the Grapefruit League. And finally, there is a bigger souvenir store, accessible from outside the ballpark and will not require a game ticket.

When you're ready to grab some grub, you'll be able to enjoy everything from a lemon Italian ice to a Killian's Red brewski. And like in the Big Apple, they know to move quickly so lines are usually short. Even better: three more concession stands have been added with the renovation.

A unique feature of Digital Domain Park is the St. Lucie Bat House. In the past, bats were a huge problem, so the county hired a bat expert to bat-proof the stadium. To give the bats an alternate place to live -- since, after all, it would have been cruel to bat-proof the stadium and leave hundreds, if not thousands, of bats homeless -- St. Lucie County constructed a bat house 14 feet off the ground with 160 chambers for hanging bats. The county says that between 10,000 and 15,000 bats can live comfortably in the St. Lucie Bat House.

Mets Spring Training Attendance (2000-2010)
 

.111	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Total Attendance	61,366	70,726	72,701	66,660	84,739	83,822	83,061	91,933	97,929	82,116	84,707
Number of Games	13	15	15	14	18	15	16	16	16	16	17
Average Attendance	4,720	4,715	4,847	4,761	4,708	5,588	5,191	5,723	6,121	5,136	4,983

Area Information
St. Lucie County Tourist Development Council, (800) 344-8443 or www.visitstluciefla.com

Other nearby Spring Training sites
Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, Home of the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals - 41 miles to the South
Space Coast Stadium, Viera, Home of the Washington Nationals, 76 miles to the North

Official New York Mets Web Site