Florida is losing an old friend
The Dodgers first held spring training in 1901, in Charlotte, N.C. They hopped through a dozen other sites, including Havana, New Orleans and Hot Springs, Ark., before settling into an old naval air station in Vero Beach, Fla., in 1948.
Over the decades, Dodgertown evolved into the most storied and arguably the most charming site for spring training. Fans and players mingled easily, along Vin Scully Way and Don Drysdale Drive. Coaches and executives rode in golf carts.
Former owner Walter O’Malley dedicated a heart-shaped lake to his wife. The Dodgers adopted a local school, and the city renamed it Dodgertown Elementary. Sandy Koufax moved there, all year long.
To Dodgers fans, the trip to Vero Beach became a pilgrimage. But the ties to Brooklyn faded, and attendance dwindled, to the point where the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds outdrew the Dodgers last spring.
In the Grapefruit League, at least based on attendance, the Dodgers are just another team. The New York Yankees draw in Florida, and so do the Boston Red Sox, but not the Dodgers.
The Dodgers will play their 50th season in Los Angeles this year.
In moving spring training from Vero Beach to Glendale, Ariz., in 2009, owner Frank McCourt said he was not disrespecting tradition, just respecting his fans.
Dodgers fans no longer need to plan a cross-country trip to Vero Beach, a town far from major airports. In Arizona, spring training will be a one-hour flight from Los Angeles, or a six-hour drive.
“I’ve spoken to many, many folks about this over the course of the last two years,” McCourt said. “What I heard over and over again was that Dodgertown was wonderful, it’s steeped in tradition, it’s fantastic -- but if we could only move it closer to L.A. and make it easier to get to, a desire for something like Dodgertown but 2,500 miles closer.
“I’d ask people, ‘When was the last time you went to Vero, and how often would you go?’ It was clear our fans found it very challenging to get to Vero. It was an imposition. It took a commitment of time and a substantial expense.
“It’s all about the fans. Bringing spring training closer to our fans is a huge win. That’s what’s driving this whole thing.”
