On Wednesday, September 13th, the Sarasota County and governing body of the West Villages in North Port approved a plan to construct a $100 million baseball stadium in the West Villages that will be used as a spring training site by the Atlanta Braves. North Port city leaders will make their final decision of approval on Tuesday, September 19th. A 94-acre pasture will be developed into an 8,000-seat stadium with six full-sized practice fields. The stadium will be owned by the Sarasota County and operated by the Atlanta Braves. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in October. Construction is planned to be completed no later  than the spring of 2019. In addition to spring training, the stadium will also eventually be used for year-round player development.

For more information on the stadium, please check out Zach Murdock’s article on the Herald Tribune.