Pirates go to work at new Performance Center

BRADENTON, Fla. -- It is far too cavernous and high tech to be called simply a "weight room." So Pirate City's new conditioning and rehab facility goes by "Performance Center."

Erected adjacent to an existing dining room at the team's Spring Training site since 1969, the new 12,240-square foot facility includes a myriad of state-of-the-art equipment and will serve the Bucs as a year-round performance and rehab mecca.

Pirates players can build rock-hard muscles while listening to hard rock through the Center's impressive audio system.

The two-story structure incorporates coaches' offices, conference and storage rooms, and was funded by the club as an expression of its commitment to Bradenton and its Manatee County.

In the second phase of the Bucs' Bradenton "makeover," the expanded and renovated home clubhouse at McKechnie Field will be unveiled on Tuesday. At 22,500 square feet, that clubhouse will be nearly twice as big as the Performance Center.