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FORT LAUDERDALE STADIUM Capacity 8,340 Year Opened 1962 Dimensions 332L, 401C, 320R Surface Grass Tickets on Sale To be announced. Ticket Lines 954/523-3309 (Broward County), 305/358-5885 (Dade County), 561/966-3309 (Palm Beach County) Ticket Web Site www.theorioles.com. Ticket Prices To be announced. Local Airport Fort Lauderdale. Address 5301 NW 12th Av., Fort Lauderdale. Directions From I-95, take exit 32 (Commercial Boulevard) and travel west to N.W. 12th Avenue, also known as Orioles Boulevard, and make a right. Fort Lauderdale Stadium is the second stadium on your left-hand side.

Fort Lauderdale Stadium is not regarded as one of the gems of the Grapefruit League, despite its status as one of the older stadiums still in use. The Orioles are actively seeking a replacement after their lease expires in 2004, but there's been no organized movement to renovate or preserve Fort Lauderdale Stadium as a spring-training venue -- in fact, the most likely use for the ballpark in the future is either as a cricket facility or the home of a fall independent baseball league. Not that any tears will be shed by Fort Lauderdale baseball fans: Fort Lauderdale Stadium is not old enough to be a classic stadium, and architecturally it's not distinguished enough to be considered interesting enough to be worth saving should a new complex be built for the Orioles. And the Orioles have not been using Fort Lauderdale Stadium long enough to be identified with the stadium -- Fort Lauderdale Stadium was previously the spring-training of the New York Yankees, and many fans still associate the glory days of the Yankees in the 1960s with the relaxed atmosphere of Fort Lauderdale.

The grandstand.

So, basically, this all means that if you want to see a spring-training game in Fort Lauderdale Stadium, you had better do so this year, as the Orioles are still committed to Fort Lauderdale for the 2004 spring-training season. At one point the team was negotiating with Fort Lauderdale to expand the training facility to provide for enough room for both the minor- and major-league squads, but those talks collapsed: the Orioles have stated that they do not find the facility adequate and are seeking a new stadium in the same general location. One plan still under consideration: Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is the owner of the land and are seeking to expand in the general area. So the current plan is to expand the training area by building a new stadium, along with training facilities, on the current site of adjoining Lockhart Stadium. The plan would be to sign up the Orioles for a long-term commitment as well as locate a Florida State League team in the stadium. The other bonus to such a plan: the Orioles' minor league players could also train in Fort Lauderdale. Currently the Orioles' minor leaguers train in Sarasota, across the state.

The Baltimore Orioles' prior home in Scottsdale.

The Baltimore Orioles have trained at the following sites (including their years as the St. Louis Browns): St. Louis (1901); French Lick, Ind. (1902); Baton Rouge (1903); Corsicana, Texas (1904); Dallas (1905-1906); San Antonio (1907, 1919, 1937-1941); Shreveport (1908, 1918); Houston (1909-1910); Hot Springs, Ark. (1911); Montgomery, Ala. (1912); Waco (1913); St. Petersburg (1914); Houston (1915); Palestine, Texas (1916-1917); Taylor, Ala. (1920); Bogalusa, Ala. (1921); Mobile, Ala. (1922-1924); Tarpon Springs, Fla. (1925-1927); West Palm Beach (1928-1936); Deland, Fla. (1942); Cape Girardeau, Mo. (1943-1945); Anaheim (1946); Miami (1947); San Bernardino, Cal. (1948, 1953); Burbank, Cal. (1949-1952); Yuma, Az. (1954); Daytona Beach, Fla. (1955); Scottsdale (1956-1958); Miami (1959-1990); Sarasota (1989-1991); St. Petersburg (1992-1995); Fort Lauderdale (1996-present).

The facility previous served as the spring-training home of the New York Yankees, until the Yanks moved into its present home at Legends Field in 1996.

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