Spring Training Online

If You Go ...

Clearwater is less than 20 miles outside of Tampa-St. Petersburg and less than five miles from Dunedin, so you're in the midst of spring-training nirvana: Spring-training venues that are within easy driving distance of Clearwater include Lakeland (Detroit Tigers), Tampa (New York Yankees), Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays), Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates), and Lakeland (Detroit Tigers). You can expect your trip to spring training to be filled with lots of baseball in the Tampa area.

The thing to do in Clearwater is really nothing: head to one of the many beaches and soak up some sun. One popular local attraction is Pier 60 Park, located at Causeway and Gulf Blvd. Pier 60 Park is a crescent of fine, powdery white sand that runs from the pass north for 1.3 miles. Shops, restaurants, a bait shop, and beach concessions are located by the pier, which is open 24 hours. A four-hour festival is held nightly from two hours before to two hours after sundown. Jugglers, magicians, and a variety of entertainers perform for the crowd that gathers each evening.

Tampa/St. Pete, of course, has its own set of attractions. If you're bringing the kids, a possible stop is Busch Gardens, a theme part built around a zoo, various rides, and a water park. I will confess it's been many years since I've visited Busch Gardens -- in fact, Anheuser-Busch still owned the park when I last visited -- so I can't wholeheartedly recommend Busch Gardens.

Those more in a mood to party will want to head to Ybor City, Tampa's Latin Quarter. It's a gentrified area that was once home to cigar factories that's now a shopping and entertainment mecca. Ybor City's larger buildings can be seen a ways away, and the district -- located on 7th Avenue East between 15th and 20th streets -- is well-served with many road signs showing the way. Notable nightlife spots include brewpub Barley Hopper's International Alehouse, the Green Iguana bar, and the Centro Ybor, which houses several clubs and restaurants. At night Ybor City gets pretty rowdy, as the music clubs bring them in. Oh, and you can still find hand-rolled cigars in Ybor City as well.

Also worth a trip is the Pier, located on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, The Pier features a five-story inverted pyramid with giant tubes bubbling with fish and creatures from the sea, complete with a second-floor aquarium filled with native and tropical fish and sharks. You'll also find educational exhibits from the Great Explorations Museum and the historic H.M.S. Bounty docked pierside.

For the truly surreal, there's the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Pete. Get it? Surreal? Good.

If you're looking for more excitement, you can head into Orlando, which is 75 miles up I-4. Spring-training venues in Orlando include Champion Stadium (Atlanta Braves) and Kissimmee (Houston Astros).

Where to Stay: Because of the many teams that train in the Tampa area, you won't need to stay too close to the stadium. Within a mile of the stadium is the Comfort Suite Clearwater, and there are several affordable hotels in the greater area (Best Western Seastone Resort, Best Western Clearwater Centra, Radisson Suite Resort Sand Key, Hampton Inn Clearwater). But you could very easily stay in Tampa or St. Pete.

Flying In: Tampa International Airport is obviously the closest airport to Clearwater and the most convenient. It's not the biggest airport in the world and is easy to navigate. All the major airlines fly into Tampa.

You may also want to consider flying into Orlando and then driving to Tampa if the fare to Orlando is significantly cheaper. The drive is 79 miles and less than an hour and a half on I-4 but if you can save $100 or so on your air fares, the drive will be worth it.

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