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  Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches The stadium's location in Florida | |
| Former names |
|
|---|---|
| Address | 5444 Haverhill Road West Palm Beach, Florida United States |
| Coordinates | 26°45′19″N80°06′46″W / 26.75528°N 80.11278°W /26.75528; -80.11278 |
| Operator | Houston Astros,Washington Nationals |
| Capacity | 6,500 (fixed seats); 7,858 (total) |
| Field size | Left Field: 329 feet (100 m) Left-Center Field: 389 feet (119 m) Center Field: 408 feet (124 m) Right-Center Field: 375 feet (114 m) Right Field: 330 feet (100 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 9, 2015 |
| Opened | February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28) |
| Construction cost | $148.6 Million |
| Architect | HKS, Inc. |
| Project manager | Marc Taylor Inc. (MTI) |
| Structural engineer | Bliss & Nyitray, Inc. |
| General contractor | Hunt Construction Group |
| Tenants | |
| FCL Astros (FCL) 2017–present FCL Nationals (FCL) 2017–present Houston Astros (MLB) (spring training) 2017–present Washington Nationals (MLB) (spring training) 2017–present | |
| Website | |
| cactipark | |
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches,[1] formerly calledThe Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, is abaseball park located inWest Palm Beach, Florida. The stadium has a capacity of 6,500 people in fixed seats with room for 1,000 more on the outfieldberm. The stadium hosts theHouston Astros andWashington NationalsMajor League Baseball teams annually forspring training.[2] It also hosts theFlorida Complex League Astros and theFlorida Complex League Nationals of theRookie-levelFlorida Complex League.
In addition to the stadium itself, the complex provides separate spring training facilities for the two teams. Each team has two major-league-size practice fields, four-minor-league-size practice fields, an agility field, a half field,batting cages, andpitching mounds.[3] The Astros' training facilities are on the north and northeast side of the complex and their offices are behind the stadium's left-field corner, while the Nationals' facilities are on the south and southeast side with offices behind home plate.
In March 2020, the stadium became acoronavirus testing site for the City of West Palm Beach during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] It stopped offering testing in February 2021.[6]
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on November 9, 2015, and construction of the new facility was accelerated so that it could be completed in 16 months. Astros and Nationals pitchers and catchers officially reported for spring training at the new facility on February 14, 2017, followed by the rest of the players for both teams on February 17. Construction was not yet complete, but the teams were able to prioritize the parts of the facilities most important to spring training so that it met their needs by the reporting dates.[7] As construction continued, both the Nationals and the Astros began their 2017 spring training schedules on February 25 with three straight road games before their first game at the new ballpark.
With construction crews still putting the finishing touches on the stadium during the morning, the Nationals and Astros opened the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches with their first game there on February 28, 2017, with the Nationals playing as the home team.Commissioner of BaseballRob Manfred cut a ceremonial ribbon, and a helicopter flyover took place during the opening ceremonies.
Before a crowd of 5,897, Nationals non-roster inviteeJeremy Guthrie threw the first pitch at 1:07 p.m. EST, to Astros first basemanMarwin González, who he eventually struck out. In the bottom of the first inning, Nationals second basemanDaniel Murphy doubled for the first hit in the ballpark's history, and a few minutes later scored its first run when Nationals right fielderBryce Harper doubled to drive him home. In the top of the fourth inning, Astrosdesignated hitterCarlos Beltrán hit the stadium's first home run, and catcherDerek Norris hit the first Nationals home run in the park's history in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, outfielderMichael A. Taylor hit a walk-off solo home run to give the Nationals a 4–3 victory.[7]
The first official regular season professional game at the complex was aGulf Coast League game held on June 27, 2017, as theGulf Coast League Astros hosted theGulf Coast League Marlins. The Marlins won by a score of 14–9.[8] The first official regular season professional game played inside the stadium itself was another Gulf Coast League game held on the evening of July 5, 2017, as the host Gulf Coast League Astros defeated their cross-complex rivals, theGulf Coast League Nationals, by a score of 7–2.[9]
In 2024, rapper and businessmanTravis Scott purchased the naming rights to the stadium, to promote his CACTI Hard Seltzer beverage.[1] In 2018, a 12-year contract was agreed to by the Astros and Nationals with FITTEAM, a fitness beverage company located in Palm Beach Gardens.[10]
Coincident with their 2017 move to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for spring training,[11] the Washington Nationals announced that three former participants in thePresidents Race run during the regular season atNationals Park in Washington, D.C. – Racing PresidentsCalvin Coolidge ("Cal"),Herbert Hoover ("Herbie"), andWilliam Howard Taft ("Bill") – had retired permanently to Florida, where they would compete against one another in races held during Nationals spring training games. The races take place during the fourth inning of Nationals games held at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.[12]
The county's health care district closed its mass testing center at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in February when a contract with a testing company expired...
