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Though no longer the spring training home for the Dodgers,
the baseball complex preserves its rich history while also
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branching out to become a multi-purpose facility
odgertown has been key in the history
of Vero Beach since the Dodgers took
over an unused U.S. Naval Air Station
in 1948 as the first Major League Baseball
spring-training facility in Florida. The Dodgers
are gone, but for generations of players, fans
BY WILLI MILLER
and employees the story goes on.
Prospects looked grim for Dodgertown in 2008, when the team
left for its new training facility in Arizona. After the departure
of the Dodgers, Minor League Baseball agreed to operate Dodgertown
with a new name, Vero Beach Sports Village. In 2011, the
decision was made to cancel the lease with Indian River County
and close down the unprofitable facility. By January 2012, former
Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley had formed a partnership to
take over the lease and run VBSV. When the group renewed the
lease the following year, the Dodgers and Major League Baseball
signed onto a licensing agreement with O’Malley, changing the
name to Historic Dodgertown — Vero Beach, Florida, to “recognize
the significance and longstanding tradition of the iconic site.”
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Photos by Ed Drondoski
Historic Dodgertown’s conference center is the site of the players’ lounge and meeting rooms for groups large and small.
HISTORIC DODGERTOWN ARCHIVES
Framed photographs of former Dodgers such as this one of Sandy Koufax
and Don Drysdale line the walls at Historic Dodgertown.