Originally, Disney planned for no MLB permanent spring training tenant for the stadium, instead using as a
Grapefruit League neutral site with rotating teams. However, the Braves organization became interested and moved in.
The Ballpark opened with the rest of
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex on March 28, 1997, with an exhibition baseball game between the
Atlanta Braves and the
Cincinnati Reds. The
Gulf Coast League Braves began play at the stadium in 1997, while the Atlanta Braves started its 20-year spring training lease in 1998. In 2000, after years of poor attendance at
Tinker Field, the
Orlando Rays moved to the Ballpark. However, the Rays continued to draw barely 1,000 fans a game in their new stadium. Things improved somewhat over the next three seasons; the Rays drew 150,051 fans in 2003, more than twice what they had seen just a few years earlier at Tinker Field, but still last in the league. Following the 2003 season, the Rays moved (breaking a 10-year lease at Disney after just four years) and became the
Montgomery Biscuits. The venue hosted the 2001
Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament, won by
Temple. The old style manual score board was replaced in 2003 with a larger electronic scoreboard and message center. Champion Stadium was used during first-round games for the
2006 World Baseball Classic. It hosted Pool D, and featured teams with professional players from
Venezuela,
Australia,
Dominican Republic and
Italy. In January 2017, the Braves announced a formal agreement to move their spring training home to
CoolToday Park in
North Port, Florida, which opened in 2019. The stadium will host two games by the
Loco Beach Coconuts against the
Savannah Party Animals on Friday, May 29, 2026 and Saturday, May 30, 2026 respectively. ==References==