Presidents’ Day Tournament
Historic Dodgertown’s Presidents’ Day Tournament opens the 2017 sports season, and annual economic generator, for Vero Beach and Indian River County communities
More than 1,300 athletes ages 9 to 18 representing 87 teams, plus coaches, families and friends from 12 states and Canada, will meet in Vero Beach this weekend for Historic Dodgertown’s annual Treasure Coast Presidents’ Day Challenge tournament.
Treasure Coast Presidents’ Day Challenge
The Treasure Coast Presidents’ Day Challenge is co-sponsored by the Treasure Coast Sports Commission. It kicks off the busy spring sports season at Historic Dodgertown. The tournament’s size and scope expands to games also being played at South County Regional Park as well as Lakewood and Lawnwood Park in St. Lucie County.
Historic Dodgertown hosts seven weekend and weeklong tournaments each year in addition to other teams, sports and organizations who utilize the facility for their games, training, conferences and retreats.
After the tournament
The tournament is followed by Historic Dodgertown’s College and High School Spring Training program. The program operates from February 20 through April 23 and is one of the largest such programs in the nation. This year Historic Dodgertown will welcome more than 180 schools from 25 states and Canada for baseball, softball, lacrosse, rugby and soccer.
Coaches and families who visit Vero Beach can book their hotel stays in one of Historic Dodgertown’s 89 hotel villa rooms or at one of our partner hotels, bringing a boost to the local economy through their stays, dining and shopping.
Visit!
Each year more than 1,100 sports and corporate teams from 30 states and 10 countries visit Historic Dodgertown in the sports of baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, rugby football, swimming, international baseball and football, as well as through umpire development, business meetings, retreats and more. Teams that stay on property can enjoy recreational amenities not available elsewhere: a competition-sized swimming pool and large deck, lighted tennis and basketball courts, major-league designed fitness room, sand volleyball court, shuffleboard, and paths for walking or jogging.
In Vero Beach and Indian River County, more than 32,000 hotel rooms are booked annually as a result of games and training at Historic Dodgertown. That is double the population of Vero Beach alone.
Historic Dodgertown’s clients include professional and amateur sports organizations, and business corporations, such as: Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, the Korean Baseball Organization SK Wyverns, Canadian Football League, Baseball and Softball Factory, Hardball 360, FCSAA Junior College Softball State Championship, FHSAA High School State Softball Championship, Nike lacrosse, Bill Pilate’s Lacrosse Goalie School, Division I and II sports, USA Rugby/ATAVUS, swimming and rowing teams for land training, and more. The annual Jackie Robinson Celebration Game is played at Holman Stadium, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in sports. Dodgertown, the first the first completely integrated Spring Training site in the South, was named a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2014.
About Historic Dodgertown
Vero Beach, Florida, “A Florida Heritage Landmark”
World-famous Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida is an 80-acre multi-sport complex and conference center on Florida’s Treasure Coast. It is managed by former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley in a partnership since 2012. O’Malley, whose family developed and expanded the site formerly known as “Dodgertown” for nearly 50 years. He partnered with his sister Terry O’Malley Seidler and former Dodger star pitchers Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo.
On November 10, 2014, Historic Dodgertown was named a Florida Heritage Landmark. The designation was for its unique historic significance extending beyond baseball, as the first completely integrated Spring Training site in the South. The “Baseball and Dodgertown” historical marker is located at the entrance to the conference center.
The home of Dodger Spring Trainings from 1948-2008, it was the starting place for six World Championships and 14 N.L. Pennant-winning teams. Numerous Baseball Hall of Fame players trained on these hallowed grounds.
The all-inclusive facility gives teams of all ages the unique opportunity to train, play, dine and stay together in on-site villas. Participants utilize one of 10 ½ playing fields (seven are Musco-lighted for night games). This includes a new cloverleaf of youth baseball/softball fields. It included concessions area and multi-purpose field (110 by 130 yards) for football, soccer and lacrosse.
Other amenities include :
- clubhouses
- two full-sized weight rooms
- dining room
- Stadium Club lounge,
- competition-size swimming pool,
- lighted tennis and basketball courts,
and a sand volleyball court, fields and paths for walking and jogging.
The home of 6,500-seat Holman Stadium, Historic Dodgertown provides an all-encompassing experience for guests. It is the ideal setting to build a championship team. It’s the perfect location for tournaments, camps, schools, business conferences and seminars.
