Early era: 1919–1941 The Cardinals' first term Prior to its construction, the stadium's location was the site of
Ninth Street Park, which was used by the
Bradenton Growers of the Florida State League. However, Robert M. Beall Sr., the founder of the Bradenton-based department store,
Bealls, as well as the team president and majority owner of the Bradenton Growers, was connected to
Sam Breadon, the owner of the
St. Louis Cardinals. Breadon also owned a citrus grove inside the county and was familiar with the area. Beall convinced Breadon to move the Cardinals from their training facility in
Orange, Texas to Bradenton. As part of the agreement, Beall agreed to sell $2,000 in tickets for the exhibition games. The baseball field was just east of where LECOM Park stands today, on the site of the Bradenton Golf Club, a nine-hole golf course. After completion, city engineers discovered that the field's second base, was lower than home plate, and the outfield was even lower than second base. The field was later renamed
Ninth Street Park and then
Braves Field.
Phillies and Red Sox The Cardinals played in Bradenton in the very next season, before leaving for
Stockton, California, in . However, they were replaced by the
Philadelphia Phillies, who played in the park until , until they left for
Winter Haven. In 1928, the
Boston Red Sox were looking at coming to Bradenton, after spending the prior three years training in
New Orleans. However, before the team would commit to the Bradenton, the Red Sox officials asked to see the attendance and financial figures of what they would see if they moved their training to Bradenton. Robert M. Beall Sr. gave the Red Sox the actual figures they requested. The Boston officials were impressed with Beall's honesty. Every other city competing for the Red Sox had given the club projected figures on what they might expect if they choose their city, not their actual figures. The Red Sox trained in Bradenton until . That season the Cardinals returned to Bradenton and would stay there for the next seven springs. Dean also bought a home in Bradenton. To keep him out of trouble, the Cardinals sent him to Bradenton weeks before spring training, and paid a local sportswriter to keep an eye on him. The baseball field was filled with temporary buildings and tents and used as a
United States Army Signal Corps training facility. The offices of the city's Public Works Department are next to the ballpark on land that was also part of the camp. The camp was attached to
Drew Army Airfield, located in
Tampa. When the war ended, that airfield became the
Tampa International Airport. Meanwhile, the Camp Weatherford location was used once again for baseball. An historical marker now stands between the city offices and the stadium.
Return to baseball: 1948–1968 The Braves' second era In ,
Lou Perini, the owner of the Boston Braves (later renamed the Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves) moved his club's spring training to Bradenton, after finding his club's training facility in
Fort Lauderdale too windy. The Braves played in Bradenton for one year, however the city stated that if the Braves agreed to return the very next season, the city would build new clubhouses, field boxes along the first and third baselines and a new press box. The Braves agreed and stayed in Bradenton until . In 1962, the stadium was finally renamed after Bradenton-native, Bill McKechnie, in honor of his induction that year into the
Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager. Because the stadium did not have floodlights at the time, a 6–6 ballgame between the
United States and
Nicaragua was called as a tie for darkness, precipitating a controversial tie-breaker series between the two teams after they both finished round robin play with identical 7–0–1 records.
The potato patch Prior to 1993, the playing field at McKechnie was much less popular with the players than it is today.
Whitey Herzog, the
Kansas City Royals manager in the late 1970s, called it "the closest thing to a cow pasture I've seen." Pirates outfielder
Dave Parker later stated "playing in the outfield [at McKechnie] was like playing in a "potato patch"." Construction on the new park started in late 1992, and was barely completed by spring training 1993. Workers were still putting numbers on the stadium seats while the
Manatee High School band played just minutes before the first pitch on March 5. The Pirates tenure in Bradenton (44 years) ranks third in longevity among teams which currently hold Spring training in Florida. Only the
Detroit Tigers in
Lakeland (65 years), and the
Philadelphia Phillies in
Clearwater (64 years) have been in their Spring training locations longer. The work was partly funded by the state, which wants to prevent any more major league teams from migrating to the
Cactus League in
Arizona for spring training. The first night game at McKechnie was originally scheduled for March 7 as the Pirates took on the
Cincinnati Reds but the game was rained out. Instead the ballpark's first night game was played on March 19, 2008. The game resulted in a Pirates loss to the
New York Yankees, 12–9. Because of the improvements, the Pirates signed a new 30-year lease that went into effect on February 1, 2008. The team is now guaranteed to play at McKechnie Field through 2037, and after playing two night games in Bradenton in 2008 the Pirates will have many more opportunities to play under the lights over the next few decades. Pirates' alumni
Bill Virdon and
Chuck Tanner have both disagreed on the need for lights, stating their opinion spring training games were meant to be held in the daytime. The Pirates' Rookie Level minor league affiliate, the
Gulf Coast Pirates, formerly the Bradenton Pirates, currently play their games at the Pirates training facility in Bradenton's Pirate City complex. However, on November 10, 2009, baseball officials voted to allow the Pirates to purchase and uproot the Cincinnati Reds' Class A affiliate, the
Sarasota Reds. The team was renamed the Bradenton Marauders and play all of its home games at McKechnie Field. In return the Reds received the Pirates Class A team, the
Lynchburg Hillcats. The new Bradenton team began play on April 7, 2010. The inaugural game ended in 18-3 Bradenton victory over the
Fort Myers Miracle.
2012–2013: "Fan-friendly" renovations In early 2012, Bradenton officials planned to make a $7.5 million loan to pay for "fan-friendly" renovations to McKechnie Field. The proposed upgrades included new seating, enhanced fan plazas, a boardwalk which would circumnavigate the stadium, a tiki bar, more concession stands, restroom improvements, an upgraded sound system and scoreboard. To pay for the ballpark renovations, the city planned to take out a 20-year loan, repaying it primarily from the county's "bed tax", which visitors pay when they stay at a hotel or resort located in
Manatee County. Under the deal, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who contributed the equivalent of $150,000 annually to market the city of Bradenton, planned to increase their marketing donation to $400,000 annually. That money was then to be used to promote tourism in the county. The renovations also allowed McKechnie Field to host sports events, such as high school regional tournaments. The project was slated to begin after the Pirates' 2012 spring training season and will continue around the Marauders' 2012 schedule. Improvements could be completed prior to the 2013 spring training season. The renovations will allow for the metal roof that sits over the grandstand area to be repaired. In 2011, the metal ceilings that occupied McKechnie had to be removed because of corrosion. The removal forced two Marauders home games to be relocated to
Port Charlotte. Temporary awnings were put in place for the upcoming 2012 season. Construction of a new, permanent roof was planned and completed in 2013. On August 16, 2012, the Pirates announced the team would contribute an additional $2 million to $3 million for the renovations to McKechnie Field, increasing total enhancement costs for their Bradenton Spring training home from 7.5 million to approximately $10 million. The design and construction for the renovations were performed by Fawley Bryant Architects and NDC Construction, both Manatee County businesses. The renovated ballpark was unveiled to the media on February 20, 2013. The changes come on the anniversaries of McKechnie's 90th year in existence, as well as the Pirates' 45th year at the stadium. With the changes, McKechnie became the fourth largest capacity venue in the
Grapefruit League. For both aesthetic and business reasons, McKechnie Field was chosen as the Best Ballpark Renovation, in the Over $1 Million category, of 2013 by
Ballpark Digest, the leading guide to baseball and ballparks on the Internet.
2014 and beyond McKechnie Field hosted the 2014 Florida State League All-Star Game on Saturday, June 14, 2014. The Marauders were represented in the game by outfielder
Josh Bell and left-handed pitcher Orlando Castro. The attendance of 5,882 fans for the game was the highest for the league's All-Star Game since 2006 and it was also the 3rd highest attendance in the All-Star Game's 53-year history. In February 2015, the Pirates opened and began using a brand-new 22,500-square-foot facility at the ballpark. According to Trevor Gooby, the director of Florida Operations for the Pirates, "McKechnie was built in 1923, and the clubhouse was probably built right after the stadium was built, so it was the oldest part of McKechnie Field". The walls have the numbers of retired players and dates of victorious championships. There is also a quote from Pirates' legend
Roberto Clemente located in the locker room area that reads: "When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth." Other areas of the building contain a weight room, rehab center and two hydrogen pools. The $6.5 million facility was funded by the Pirates. In 2016, with over 12,000 individuals voting, readers of
Ballpark Digest and
Spring Training Online overwhelmingly chose McKechnie Field as the leading Grapefruit League spring-training facility in the website's annual Best of the Ballparks polling. The stadium repeated as top Spring park in Florida the following season and set a new Spring training attendance record of 106,291 over 17 games. McKechnie Field was used as the site for each game of the 2016 Florida State League Championship series between the Marauders and the
Tampa Yankees due to construction at the Yankees' stadium,
Steinbrenner Field. The Marauders defeated the Yankees, in 4 games to win their first Florida State League title. On February 10, 2017, it was announced the Pirates and the
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine had reached a naming rights deal, renaming the venue
LECOM Park. To continue the homage to Bill McKechnie, the home clubhouse was renamed the Bill McKechnie Home Clubhouse. ==Name-change controversy==