Bradenton's McKechnie Field named best spring training stadium in Florida

BRADENTON -- The yellow banner with black lettering draped over the boardwalk in left field expressed the same motto that fans in Pittsburgh display during regular season Pirates games: "Ain't no stopping us now!"

Well, that was taken to a new level when Pittsburgh's spring home, Bradenton's McKechnie Field, won the Best of Ballparks contest for Grapefruit League facilities as conducted by Ballpark Digest and Spring Training Online on Wednesday.

"A lot of our fans, they travel down here to come watch us play, and not only that, but I feel like we've developed a following in the local community here which is special," Pirates reliever Jared Hughes said. "We love Bradenton, and it's really nice how accepting they are of us."

It was the second annual contest the websites have produced, and it was set up using a March Madness theme: Each of the 14 parks in Florida was seeded within a bracket, matched head to head, and fans voted on a

winner in each round.

McKechnie was seeded third behind JetBlue Park in Fort Myers and Bright House Field in Clearwater, but fans made sure to voice their view that it's the top one going today.

After McKechnie received the larger voting percentage against Viera's Space Coast Stadium (Washington Nationals) in the first round, Port Charlotte's Charlotte Sports Park (Tampa Bay Rays) in the quarterfinals and Clearwater's Bright House Field (Philadelphia Phillies) in the semifinals, the venerable Bradenton park went toe-to-toe with Sarasota's Ed Smith Stadium, where the Baltimore Orioles play, in the final round.

McKechnie, which has played host to spring training for the Pirates since 1969 and dates back to 1923, reigned with 70 percent of the vote to win the contest.

Having that old-school feel to it, with seating near the field of action, is something Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston said makes it the most fan-friendly in the state.

"You're close to the players, you can actually hear and talk to them," Poston said. "They all sign autographs. They throw a ball to a kid. And you're right there with them."

Poston isn't the only person who has noticed the thrill of McKechnie. Even a newcomer like David Freese, who etched his name into baseball lore for his Most Valuable Player performance in the St. Louis Cardinals 2011 World Series victory, notices the impact of the atmosphere at the Bradenton venue.

"I don't think too many parks have the ability to walk around like that in the spring," said Freese, who was a free-agent signing for Pittsburgh in March. "And it's great coming out here day one, and kind of sitting on the bench experiencing this atmosphere and this field. It was special from the start."

Freese said he's told a lot of people back home how awesome it is to play at McKechnie, a place he'd never been to before joining the Pirates.

And that excitement coincided with the club drawing 103,762 this year, which is the second largest spring attendance total in franchise history and marks the second consecutive season the Pirates have surpassed 100,000. The Pirates' Grapefruit League home schedule concluded with Wednesday's contest against Boston Red Sox, which drew 7,072 fans. The all-time attendance record or average per game wasn't met due to one pesky rainout on March 19.

"We would have set our all-time record if we didn't have that rain out, but overall it was a really tremendous year," Pirates senior director of Florida operations Trevor Gooby said. "Since the renovations have happened, people really love coming out here. The team having some really great players and the way they've played the past three years making the playoffs has helped get people to the ballpark."

The renovations, made a few years ago, introduced seating in the outfield, additional concessions and a boardwalk that created a concourse loop surrounding the field.

"Over the past couple years, we've seen how it's changed and developed with all the new attractions and stuff," Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison said. "It's nice. Some people that haven't been here in a couple years, they'll come back and be like, 'Man, this is completely different. It's nice.'"

Of course, having a winning club helps.

"We have more people from Pittsburgh moving here," Poston said. "Everybody loves a winner. Ninety-eight games last year. All of a sudden, the volunteer group that mans the stadium and helps out the Pirates here, that group is growing for the first time in a few years."

And players notice the extra fans, too.

"These fans here are just like up in Pittsburgh the last few years," Freese said. "They're rowdy, they're loud. That's the way we like it."

Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Bradenton's McKechnie Field named best spring training stadium in Florida ."