WEST PALM BEACH <\/p>\n
It was a day of firsts on Saturday whenThe Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Major League Baseballs newest spring-training facility, opened its doors to the public for the first time. <\/p>\n
The first souvenir baseball from a batting-practice foul ball went to Rocco Arnone, 10, of Boca Raton, who snagged it outside a Houston Astros practice field. <\/p>\n
Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez and 8-year-old Ryan Shenker of Potomac, Md., teamed up for the ballparks first player-fan high-five. <\/p>\n
The first player to succumb to autograph hounds was Astros infielder A.J. Reed. He also posed for the first player-fan selfie with Lynn University student Andrew Kalmans of Houston. <\/p>\n
If you build it, they will come, and here we come, Nationals fan Lana Turner of Stuart said, quoting the baseball movie Field of Dreams, as she strolled with her husband, John, through the$150 million spring training complex south of 45th Street. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of fans, from as far away as California and wearing the red colors of both teams, started arriving at about 8:30 a.m. on the 160-acre site, which wasa landfill before the teams broke ground in November 2015. <\/p>\n
They gathered along chain-link fences in front of the Astros clubhouse on the north end of the site and the Nationals clubhouse on the south end, waiting for sightings of the teams biggest stars, Jose Altuve and Bryce Harper. They happily settled for just about any player wearing an orange Houston star or a curly Washington W. <\/p>\n
I cant believe how fan-friendly it is. You can actually see the players up close, said Julio Duran of Lake Worth, who complained that fan access at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter has become more restricted in recent years. <\/p>\n
Around 9:45 a.m., Gonzalez the popular Nationals pitcher emerged with some of his teammates from their clubhouse and walked through a gauntlet of fans. <\/p>\n
Gio, will you say Hi to George? yelled a man who was recording a video on his smartphone. Gonzalez turned to the man, pointed at his phone and said, George, whats going on, buddy? <\/p>\n
The man, D.J. Stadtler of Virginia, huddled over his smartphone, tapped some numbers and just like that texted the video to his friend in Washington, D.C., George Hyder. <\/p>\n
Stadtler, a season-ticket holder at Nationals Park, left home Thursday night and drove with his family to South Florida so they could attend Saturdays opening of the new complex. <\/p>\n
Last spring we went to Viera (the Nationals previous spring home), and we drove down here to just to have our pictures taken. It was still a construction site, but we were excited to see it, he said. <\/p>\n
Local residents were thrilled to see it, too, on Saturday. Robert Frazier, whos working as an Astros usher, still fondly remembers the citys last spring-training complex, West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium off Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. It closed after the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos held their final spring training camp there in 1997. <\/p>\n
The fact that they built this (Ballpark of the Palm Beaches) just 3 miles from my home is retirement nirvana, said Jim DeOrdio, 58, of Century Village. <\/p>\n
The Astros and Nationals werent the only baseball players on the complex Saturday. Leaning against the batting cages, intently watching Altuve and George Springer take swings, were members of the Palm Beach Lakes High School baseball team. <\/p>\n
The high school is just a long Bryce Harper blast away, directly across Military Trail from the complex. <\/p>\n
We are the closest high school to any major-league spring training facility probably in the entire country, said head coach George Powell, who hopes his players can volunteer at the ballpark. <\/p>\n
I want my guys to see as much as they can so maybe they incorporate something they see from (an Astros) pitcher. Their excitement is off the charts. They have talked about this day since the start of the school year. <\/p>\n
The first-day excitement translated into ticket sales, too.Ben Walter, the parks director of marketing, said he made more than 25 ticket sales as he walked around the complex with an iPad attached to his hand. <\/p>\n
There were a few dubious firsts, too, on Saturday. Spencer Lazarus, 13, joked that he suffered the first spring training injury at the ballpark. He received a small cut on his left wrist when he brushed against a piece of sharp wire on a chain-link fence. <\/p>\n
Spencer and the fence were both quickly repaired. The boy, with a band-aid on the wrist, was back in action, high-fiving Brian McCann and other Astros players as they jogged off practice fields. <\/p>\n
A man from Virginia who didnt want to be named offered perhaps the first and only complaint about the complex, specifically about the pricey snacks offered at concession stands. <\/p>\n
This feels a lot like Nationals Park (in Washington), he said, because bottled water is $4.50. <\/p>\n
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NEW: Ballpark of Palm Beaches hits home run on 'opening day' for fans - Palm Beach Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WEST PALM BEACH It was a day of firsts on Saturday whenThe Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Major League Baseballs newest spring-training facility, opened its doors to the public for the first time. The first souvenir baseball from a batting-practice foul ball went to Rocco Arnone, 10, of Boca Raton, who snagged it outside a Houston Astros practice field. Continue reading