Roger Dean Stadium

One of several entrances to Roger Dean Stadium, Aug-2003.

The seats, as seen from the right-field foul pole.

Training facilities for both the Marlins and the Cardinals are visible.

Chronological Tour: Stop 263

• Location: Main Street and University Boulevard, Abacoa Town Center, Jupiter, Fla. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1998
• Home team: Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida State League (1998-present); Palm Beach Cardinals, Florida State League (2003-present); spring training, St. Louis Cardinals (1998-present), Montréal Expos (1998-2002), Florida/Miami Marlins (2003-present)
• Capacity: 6,871

Rating: 3 baseballs

The park was built as part of a new planned community in Jupiter’s southwest quadrant called Abacoa. They’re trying to make a new city out of this, and they may well have more success than they seem to be having in Viera, but it still looks forced. As I walked the streets of Abacoa, I got the feeling that I was on “The Truman Show”, except that (1) it was a lot hotter, and (2) I could drive out of the community, unlike Jim Carrey. (The movie was actually shot at a similar development on the Gulf Coast.)

The park itself was built in 1998. Both the Marlins and Cardinals use it for spring training; each club has their own facilities and practice fields beyond the outfield. The Jupiter Hammerheads, a Marlins farm club, have been there since 1998; now they have been joined in the Florida State League by the Palm Beach Cardinals. This was a rare day on which both teams were scheduled for home games. I did watch the second game, but from the press box.

The park itself is fairly standard, nothing much to write home about. Concourses and aisles are sufficiently expansive, although there were numerous promotions at the night game and that made things a bit crowded. Aside from a small right-field berm, all the seating here is stadium seating.

Hurricane Frances wrought havoc in September 2004, knocking down seven of the stadium’s eight light stanchions. Two of the poles landed on structures, one on the press box and the other on the Cardinals’ clubhouse in right field. The entire lighting system was replaced for the 2005 season.

On my return visit in 2016, I was disappointed that in the key minutes before the start of the game, the Hammerheads only had one ticket window open, meaning that ticket sales did not proceed as swiftly as possible. It was a Saturday evening, and while there were no major promotions, a pleasant evening did lead to a significant walk-up. On my 2022 visit, the Cardinals offered an all-you-can-eat ticket, at a premium, and did not offer a ticket without the all-you-can-eat option. Finally, in 2023, a partial renovation closed the facility for the second half of the Florida State League season; the clubs played in West Palm Beach during that stretch.

Roger Dean, the naming sponsor since the park opened, is an automobile dealer with his primary dealership clear across the state in Cape Coral. The name of the park is now listed as “Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium” in an effort to enhance the marketing tie-in.