Demolition begins on historic Winter Haven baseball stadium to prep for renovations

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Sports tourism is a big deal for Polk County as nearly 50 baseball events occur annually, including amateur, collegiate, and world baseball.

Now one of their historic stadiums is being renovated and will usher in a new era for the sport. Demolition of the Chain of Lakes stadium in Winter Haven, built back in 1966, began on Monday, April 8 and is moving along quickly.

The stadium has a rich history as the host of the Boston Red Sox and the former Cleveland Indians.

"Anybody you've talked to that has been around Winter Haven and is a baseball fan can tell you a story about how baseball has affected them," said Julie Adams, director of the city's Parks, Recreation and Culture Department.

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Four collegiate, artificial turf baseball fields will be built on higher ground nearby to serve amateur athletics.

"The afternoon rains that we get here in the summer are not going to slow us down for programming," said Adams.

Competitive baseball brings in more than $70 million in economic impact annually to Polk County.

Of that, more than 40 million dollars comes from collegiate baseball.

When this project is complete, Polk County will have more than 20 collegiate-sized baseball fields at their complexes.

"That helps us to not only recruit new business to Polk County but keep the existing business which that economic impact not only brings in new dollars but also creates jobs," said Neal Duncan, Senior Sales and Events Manager with Visit Central Florida Sports.

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The new facility will pay homage to its history by having old seats restored, signage, and storytelling efforts.

But it will also focus on the future, inspiring the new generation of local youth sports.

"Really the fun evolution of this is that there may be a child that plays on these fields for the first time that ends up playing MLB somewhere and how serendipitous would that be," said Adams.

The city hopes to have their first baseball game by late February 2025.

The renovation project costs $20 million with Polk County investing $10 million through the tourism development tax.

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