History
Built for $18,000, Payne Park opened on February 1, 1924 as the spring home of the New York Giants. The Boston Red Sox trained there from 1933 to 1942, and Norman Rockwell set his 1957 painting The Rookie in their locker room. The White Sox and Florida State League clubs followed.
The White Sox and Texas Rangers played the last major-league spring game there on March 30, 1988. The ballpark was demolished in November 1990, and the city opened a 29-acre park on the site in October 2007.
Why it matters: It was a spring training home for the Giants, Red Sox, Dodgers and White Sox over more than six decades.
Timeline
- October 18, 1923Groundbreaking[1]
Ground was broken for the park.
- February 1, 1924Opened[1]
The ballpark opened.
- 1974Amateur World Series[1]
The park was one of the venues of the 1974 Amateur World Series.
- March 30, 1988Last major-league spring game[1]
The White Sox and Texas Rangers played the last major-league spring training game there.
- November 1990Demolished[1]
The ballpark was demolished.
- October 6, 2007City park opens[1]
The city reopened the site as a 29-acre public park, built for $8.8 million.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Payne Park, a 29-acre city park (reopened October 2007)[1] |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Sarasota Sun Sox | Florida State League |
|---|---|
| New York Giants (spring training) | National League · 1924–1927 · tenant |
| Boston Red Sox (spring training) | American League · 1933–1942 · tenant |
| Chicago White Sox (spring training) | American League · 1960–1988 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Location | 2050 Adams Lane, Sarasota, Florida |
|---|---|
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball |
| Level | MLB spring training, Minor league |
| Opened | February 1, 1924[1] |
| Last used for sports | April 1988[1] |
| Demolished | November 1990[1] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Final capacity | 4,000[1] |
| Capacity notes | Just over 4,000 after 600 permanent bleachers were added before spring training 1951. |
| Construction cost | $18,000 |
| Closure | The White Sox moved spring training to the new Ed Smith Stadium. |
Documented details
Sources
- Payne Park, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened
Research confidence
Some facts on this page rely on a single source or are still being corroborated. Treat specific dates and figures with care. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (3)
- Wikipedia's infobox gives closure as April 1988, but its text says the park ended its professional baseball association in 1989, and the Sarasota White Sox are listed there in 1989.
- Address given as 2050 Adams Lane (infobox) and 2000 Adams Lane (historical marker citation).
- Wikipedia's tenant years for the Dodgers and White Sox spring training conflict between infobox and text.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.