1. Rays Fan
    Rays Fan

    New TB Rays Spring Training Stadium

    • Posted 10 months ago|
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    Charlotte Sports Park (formerly Charlotte County Stadium) was originally constructed in 1987 as the spring training facility for the Texas Rangers and served in that capacity until the team moved to Surprise, Ariz. in 2002.

    During the Rangers' tenure, the stadium was also home to the Charlotte Rangers, the Single-A Texas affiliate that played in the Florida State League. When the major league team left in 2002, the minor league affiliate left with them, leaving Charlotte County without baseball until the Charlotte County Redfish occupied the stadium during the summer of 2007.
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    Charlotte Sports Park was not without a tenant for long though. In 2006, The Tampa Bay Rays announced that they would move their spring training to Port Charlotte in 2009 and signed a 20-year agreement with the city, thus guaranteeing baseball in the Charlotte County community until at least 2029. Renovations estimated at more than $27 million started in summer 2008 with plans for the Rays to host spring training beginning in March 2009.

    On August 25, 2008, the Rays announced that they would partner with Ripken Baseball to purchase and move their Single-A affiliate from Vero Beach to Charlotte County. Not only would the Rays move their spring training to Port Charlotte, but their High-A affiliate would also play its home games at Charlotte Sports Park starting in April 2009.

    Photos

    www.stonecrabsbaseball.com

    http://tbraysspringtraining.mlblogs.com/

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  2. Rays Fan
    Rays Fan

    Charlotte Stone Crabs Unveil New Logo

    • Posted 10 months ago|
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    The Charlotte Stone Crabs unveiled their logo and jersey designs yesterday with some help from members of the Charlotte County Boys and Girls Club at the Port Charlotte Town Center mall in Port Charlotte, Fla.

    The newest member of the Florida State League showed off their new logo to a crowd of more than 350 fans as members of the Boys and Girls Club helped model t-shirts and hats.Limited quantities of merchandise were available for sale at the event and sold out immediately.

    "We continue to have big milestones every week, and this is certainly our biggest," said Joe Hart, general manager of the Stone Crabs."After seeing the success of the unveiling event and the tremendous response from the Charlotte County community, this just adds to the excitement and momentum heading into 2009."

    The team's primary logo features the local stone crab with its signature large, crusher claw and the familiar sunburst that was part of the Tampa Bay Rays new logo at the start of the 2008 season.The Stone Crabs home and road jerseys and home team hats also resemble their major league counterparts' in design and color scheme.

    Since the Stone Crabs announcement as the third Minor League team owned by Ripken Baseball in late August, the team has sold more than 800 full season seats and recently opened up group ticket options in addition to their Full Season, Half-Season and 10-Game Mini Plans.They will open their inaugural season at the Charlotte Sports Park on April 9 when they face off against nearby Fort Myers and make the Miracle look ordinary.

    "Unveiling our logo was another big step for our organization, and we know it will be a big help in promoting our family fun atmosphere at the Charlotte Sports Park next year," said Cal Ripken, Jr., founder of Ripken Baseball.

    The logos were created by Studio Simon, a design company based out of Kentucky that has worked with more than 60 minor league baseball teams across the country.In addition to designing logos for Minor League Baseball teams like the Trenton Thunder, Toledo Mud Hens and the Ripken-owned Augusta GreenJackets, Studio Simon has also worked with Major League Baseball and the National Football League.

    www.stonecrabsbaseball.com

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