For decades, the New York Mets have traveled to the beaches of sunny Florida for four weeks of spring training at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie. The aging ballpark, which is also home to the St. Lucie Mets minor league team and New York Mets minor league operations, was long overdue for an upgrade.
In 2019, the Mets enlisted architecture firm EwingCole to modernize the stadium and training facility, while keeping most of its existing bones. With a demanding timeline sandwiched in between 2019 and 2020 spring training, EwingCole’s team, including architect Scott Nixon, quickly got to work on the design.
“We began by programming and master planning the whole 100-acre campus,” says Nixon. “Where does it make sense to put additional practice fields, a new home clubhouse? Where does it make sense to put hitting tunnels, weight, and training rooms, all the different functions that need to happen for the convenience of players and coaches to train?”
FIVE-T-CO, the firm behind the Kennedy Space Center headquarters, and construction manager Barton Malow, also joined the project. “It was one extensive renovation. The existing stadium was mostly concrete with integral-colored CMU walls. It was very closed off; the concourses were very narrow which discouraged fans from experiencing the concourse and buying concessions,” FIVE-T-CO vice president Jud Tucker said.
The Mets wanted to transform the entire site and create a more intimate fan experience. EwingCole’s design included a variety of fan amenity upgrades to the 7,000-seat stadium as well as new state-of-the-art player development facilities.
Florida’s weather presented its own design challenges, with hurricane threats requiring the exterior cladding to meet design load criteria for high velocity hurricane zone compliance and large missile impact. Project managers turned to CENTRIA products to fit the bill.
The massive $57 million project called for 17,000 square feet of Intercept Entyre modular metal panels, 8,000 square feet of CS- 200 concealed fastener panels, and 1,000 square feet of perforated EcoScreen BR5-36 screenwalls. Intercept Entyre is one of the only metal panels that meets the hurricane zone requirements, and CENTRIA’s coating systems are durable enough to withstand the Sunshine State’s intense UV rays.
“We trusted CENTRIA the most to give us the best product with the least chance of fading over the years,” says Nixon.
In addition to recladding the entire façade, the redesign included significant improvements to Clover Park and its traffic flow. Stadium upgrades include a new landscaped arrival plaza, a new central entrance behind home plate with a large shade canopy clad in CENTRIA panels, wider concourses, and an outfield concourse extension.
As a special design feature, a series of fins clad in CENTRIA’s Intercept Entyre ¾” and CS-200 concealed fastener panels in a custom Mets blue, Gentian Blue, yellow, and orange radiate out from the main stadium. A signature part of the architecture, the stunning fins feature larger-than-life graphics of former Mets players.
Completed in eight months, the reimagined Clover Park reopened just in time for 2020 spring training, providing the Mets with a diamond fitting of the team’s stellar reputation.
