O's unveil new $23 million player development facilities in Sarasota: 'A dream for us'

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Monday was a day the Orioles had been awaiting for quite some time.

A new 47,700-square-foot, $23 million player development complex was unveiled at the O's facilities at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, a type of project that had long been on the wish list for the organization. It became more realistic when David Rubenstein's group purchased the team in March 2024, and then, the club broke ground on a facility following Spring Training in '25.

"It's been kind of a dream for us for a few years," president of baseball operations Mike Elias said. "It's a huge advantage for us as we train and try to get our players better. ... This is going to be the anchor of this facility, and this is one of the best. I think it's the best Spring Training setup in the state of Florida."

It's not only for Spring Training, though. The Orioles will use the facilities year-round, whether that's for their Florida Complex League team, players rehabbing from injuries or offseason/winter training.

The new assets were designed by Fawley Bryant and built by Tandem Construction. It took less than a year for the Orioles' complex to be revamped and turned into a state-of-the-art facility.

"It's very impressive that they accomplished in in less than one year," said Ron Cutsinger, the chairman of the Sarasota County Commission Board. "I still am trying to get my head around that."

Here's a closer look at all the new facilities added to the O's Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Player lounge (1,680 square feet) and classroom spaces (1,780 square feet)

Orioles players will now have plenty of space to hang out outside of the clubhouse in Sarasota. The new player lounge features a ping-pong table, a pair of foosball tables, an area to play video games and a nutrition center featuring food, drinks and seating.

The classrooms are dedicated learning environments for scouting, analytics, game-planning and player education, both on and off the field. There are also conference rooms (750 square feet) and offices (640 square feet) in the main building, along with the clubhouses (1,790 square feet).

"The conception of this idea was, 'OK, well maybe we could build a space where they could enjoy themselves while also being able to be close to the action.' And we wanted it to be just a very inviting, fun space," said Matt Blood, the vice president of player and staff development. "We've got to let them come in and live in it for a bit, but that's the hope, is that it creates a little more camaraderie, a little more comfortability for them."

Biomechanics pitching lab (3,400 square feet)

This space features advanced technology to support biomechanical analysis, pitch design, swing adjustments and performance feedback. There are more than 30 cameras with cutting-edge technology and multiple force plates in the mound/box setups.

It is similar to the Orioles' primary pitching lab, which is located in Bel Air, Md.

"We're really excited to use this data and then work with our coaching staff and player development staff to increase our guys' performance and help our guys get better," Orioles biomechanist Joey Mylott said.

"It provides us a ton of information they're going to be able to use at all levels of development," assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer said.

Batting cages (15,970 feet)

Rainy days and bad weather will no longer be an issue for O's players looking to get their work in. These cages are what Elias called "maybe the best indoor hitting facility in the world right now."

Four cages will let hitters simulate realistic ball-flight tracking and data analysis. They can also lift (along with the nets) to convert the area into a full infield. The training turf is identical to that used in MLB ballparks.

"We've got a lot of flexibility for different settings," director of player development Anthony Villa said. "We'll always be able to get all of our live BPs in and plenty of activity."

Outdoor turf agility field (33,430 square feet)

This field is focused on speed, movement, conditioning, rehab and injury prevention. The turf field is double the size of the previous agility area at the complex, and it features yard markers to better track/time speed.

"Whether it's us working with our sleds on the side and pushing sleds, pulling sleds, doing [medicine] ball drills, going for distance, getting the guys to compete, I think all of these are going to be huge advantages for us," said Nick White, the team's head of strength and performance.

Covered eight pack (10,300 square feet) and visiting batting cages (3,400 square feet)

The Orioles' setup for bullpen sessions used to feature only six mounds with no covering. Now, they have eight mounds in a climate-controlled, covered area. That setup is attached to the visiting batting cages, where players from other teams can prepare for games in a high-quality environment.

The eight pack can be seen from the expanded viewing area for fans, which will extend from the backfields up to the spot for bullpen sessions.

"The roof being weather-neutral, environmentally neutral, is going to help with the tech component of things, just keeping devices cooler," pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek said. "It's going to help with workload that these guys take on every day. And then, there's just more space. ... I mean, this is the dream setup. It's incredible."