William H. Hammond Stadium

Entrance plaza at Hammond Stadium, Aug-2003.

A good look at the seating configuration.

The field, from the press box.

Chronological Tour: Stop 265

• Location: Six Mile Cypress Parkway south of Daniels Parkway (I-75 exit 131), Fort Myers, Fla. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1991
• Home team: Fort Myers Miracle (1992-2019), Mighty Mussels (2020-present), Florida State League; spring training, Minnesota Twins (1991-present)
• Capacity: 7,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

And then the interior leaves something to be desired, especially when it comes to the screen, which is set low and then stretches all the way back to the press box. The effect is much like that in Buffalo, and I don't care for it. The only way I was able to get a decent “view” shot was to go up to the press box between games of a doubleheader and take it from there.

In 2003, however, the park’s saving grace was a grill located on the concourse. Among its delicacies was a grilled turkey leg – the first time I had ever seen that at a park, and perhaps the best thing I had ever eaten at a ballpark. (Dave Burke, the Miracle’s GM, added turkey legs to the menus at his new home, Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y., for 2007. I also found one in Lakewood in 2009.)

The minor league team that plays here, the Miracle, had originally played at Miami Stadium as the Marlins, but with that ballpark being mothballed at the end of 1990 spring training (and demolished in 2001), the newly rechristened Miracle took up residence at Pompano Beach for two seasons before heading west on State Road 80. A reported disconnect with the Miracle name among Fort Myers-area fans, combined with new merchandising opportunities, prompted new ownership to rebrand the team as the Mighty Mussels for 2020, giving about half the Florida State League some sort of aquatic moniker. By then, a significant renovation of the interior was complete, including the installation of a wrap-around concourse.

One drawback is that the land is owned by Lee County, and the Board of County Commissioners has opted to turn the parking lot into a profit center. Even during sparsely attended Florida State League games, they have chosen to charge $10 to park.