$30-million renovation of Daytona Beach minor-league ballpark delivers MLB-mandated upgrades, ensuring baseball history is safe at home

In late 2020, Major League Baseball announced a change that put most of the approximately 160 minor league teams on notice that they would need to upgrade their ballpark facilities by 2026—or else.

Moving forward, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that minor league ballparks would have to meet MLB’s Professional Development League (PDL) standards. This would require ballpark owners and minor-league teams to add modern weight room facilities, home and visiting team clubhouses of at least 1,000 sq ft, pitching/batting tunnels and other items.

...

First Pitch

Barton Malow kicked off construction of the design-build project in 2024, with the first of three planned phases slated to be completed in time for this year’s spring training. The project includes construction of a 38,400-sq-ft player development facility, new home and away clubhouses—including complete removal of the existing clubhouses—indoor batting cages and fitness areas, upgraded dugouts, office space, club seating and infrastructure improvements as well as brighter lighting, padded outfield walls, better field drainage and accommodations for female staff—all items mandated by MLB in 2020.

Also pitching in as structural engineer of record was GRAEF, which provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and structural engineering services in support of the project’s design and delivery.