2019 Florida Spring Training Season to Start February 22

The 2019 Major League Baseball Spring Training schedule was announced on Wednesday afternoon, and the first game of the 2019 season will be played on Friday, February 22 as the Tampa Bay Rays will host the Philadelphia Phillies at the Charlotte Sports Park. A full schedule of games will be played on Saturday, February 23.
 
The 2019 Florida Spring Training season continues through Tuesday, March 26 when only two games will be played in the Sunshine State to wrap up the 33 days of play. Playing an interleague game again in 2019, the Minnesota Twins host the Colorado Rockies at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers while the Tampa Bay Rays host the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field.
 
The final full day of action of the 2019 Florida Grapefruit League season is Sunday, March 24. A game of note being played on March 24 will feature the Atlanta Braves hosting Tampa Bay at the Braves' new spring training complex in North Port. It will be a sneak peek ahead to the 2020 season when the Braves will play a full schedule in Sarasota County.
 
A total of 238 games will be played in the State of Florida between Major League teams in the 33 days of the 2019 Florida Grapefruit League season.
 
Nearly 1.5 million fans attended Florida Spring Training Games during the 2018 season with over 29 million fans have attended Florida Spring Training Games since 2000.
 
The 2018 Florida Grapefruit League generated an economic impact of $687.1 million for the State of Florida, according to a Florida Spring Training Economic Impact Study, compiled by Tallahassee-based Downs & St. Germain Research to determine the Grapefruit League’s overall economic impact, including number of attendees, jobs created, and the overall associated wages for employees.
 
A key finding of the survey showed that of the averaged total of 6,318 fans per game, 70 percent were from outside of the host teams’ local markets (52 percent out of state; 18 percent out of county). Those fans generated nearly $584 million in economic impact for the Sunshine State.
 
Downs & St. Germain’s findings also showed that 7,152 jobs are created annually by Florida Spring Training, accounting for $253.5 million in wages. Fans attending games were responsible for 355,590 paid accommodation room nights at Florida-based lodging destinations. In total, fans attended an average of 2.9 games. To access the 2018 MLB Florida Spring Training Economic Impact Study, click here.
 
Click the individual links below to access the schedule for each of the 15 Florida Grapefruit League teams.
 
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Miami Marlins
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
 
About the Florida Sports Foundation: Florida’s Sports Industry creates over $57.4 billion in economic impact for the Sunshine State, provides over 580,000 jobs for its citizens, and attracts over 16 million out of state visitors each year. All of which deservingly make Florida the “Sports Capital of the World”. The Florida Sports Foundation, Inc. is a 501(C) 3 non-profit corporation, serving as the Sports Industry Development Division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. The mission of the Florida Sports Foundation is to:

• Assist Florida’s communities with securing, hosting and retaining Sporting events and sports related business that generate significant economic impact and Sports Tourism for the state of Florida through the Foundation’s grant programs, legislative initiatives and Industry Partner service, recognition and development.

• Provide the citizens of Florida with participation opportunities in the Sunshine State Games and Florida Senior Games events.

• Serve as Florida’s leading resource for Sport Tourism research and facts.

• Assist in the promotion of targeted leisure sports industries in Florida.

• Assist National and Florida State Governing Bodies to promote amateur sport development through the Sunshine State Games and hosting events in Florida.