Report: Mets' Spring Training Stadium Renovation Won't Be Finished By Start of Workouts
Mets pitchers and catchers begin to report for preseason workouts on Monday. But the team's $57 million overhaul of Clover Park, its spring training home, is reportedly just over halfway finished.
According to the Treasure Coast Palm, citing a December quarterly construction report St. Lucie County sent to the state, the renovations of the Mets' 7,100 seat stadium in Port St. Lucie, Fla. is only 62% complete.
County officials told the paper that they hope to have work on the stadium done by Feb. 24, two days after New York's first Spring Training home game. The entire project is projected to be finished by June 3, according to the report.
The Mets told the paper they are "100% confident" the stadium will be ready for pitchers and catchers on Monday and for fans to watch preseason workouts on Thursday.
“We are going to be 100% open and ready for spring training,” Paul Taglieri, Mets executive director of minor league facilities, told the TP Palm.
“Fans will be able to see the left-field concourse, the new Jim Beam Bourbon Bar, the new restrooms, the new concessions. Everything that will add to the player and fan experience will be 100% ready at the start of spring training.”
A county administrator told the paper the area is still an active construction site and that signs will say "Pardon our dust." According to the report, the stadium's roof is only 60% complete and only one of the two elevators has been finished.
Much of the Mets' offseason has been uncertain. The team hired former Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran on Nov. 1, but fired the longtime major leaguer in the aftermath of MLB's sign-stealing investigation into the Astros.
The team then hired new manager Luis Rojas in late January.
Weeks earlier news also surfaced that the team's high-priced outfielder Yoenis Cespedes' season-ending injury on his ranch last season happened when he reportedly stepped into a hole during an interaction with a wild boar.
Reports also surfaced earlier this week that billionaire Steve Cohen backed out of an agreement to increase his investment for a majority stake in the team.