Space Coast Stadium

Space Coast Stadium is a baseball stadium in Viera, Florida, owned by Brevard County, Florida. It has served as the spring training facility for the Florida Marlins (1994–2002), Montreal Expos (2003–2004), and Washington Nationals (2005–2016) and as the home field of the Brevard County Manatees (1994–2016). After renovation, it is scheduled to reopen as a baseball/softball venue – part of a new multi-sport complex operated by the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) – in the fall of 2017. Since 2017, it has been the home field of the USSSA Pride women′s professional fast-pitch softball team.HistoryConstruction and openingSpace Coast Stadium was completed before the 1994 Major League Baseball season as part of a plan to bring the Florida Marlins to Viera for spring training. Ground was broken for the new stadium in what had been a pasture on April 29, 1993, and construction cost US$6.2 million.Opening ceremonies took place on March 2, 1994 – the same day as a launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia at the nearby Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral – followed immediately by the Marlins′ first spring training game at the ballpark, in which they defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-6 before a crowd of 7,494.