MARK SCHUMANN

It’s official.  Vero Beach Sports Village, a 79-acre, multi-purpose, year-round sports complex that was once the spring training home of the Dodgers, will now be known as “Historic Dodgertown.”

The historic spring training camp, where Dodger greats Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax and others practiced stealing bases, hitting curve balls and controlling sliders, has became almost sacred ground for Dodger fans.

In announcing the conclusion of successful negotiations with the Dodger organization and Major League Baseball for licensing the use of the name, “Historic Dodgertown,” former Dodger owner and CEO and Managing Partner of the Verotown LLC, Peter O’Malley, explained that the name change will help to more effectively market the sports complex around the world.  “It’s a tremendous help to what we are trying to do,” O’Malley said.

Pointing to the benefit to the local economy, Historic Dodgertown Vice President, Craig Callan, underscored the importance of drawing teams from across the country and around the world.  This weekend alone, Callan said, 54 teams will be in Vero Beach for a three-day weekend Labor Day Bash.  Ten of the visiting teams will be housed at Historic Dodgertown, with the rest staying in local hotels, eating in local restaurants and boosting local retail sales.

O’Malley, clearly enthusiastic about what he hopes can be accomplished with Historic Dodgertown, likened the effort to what was done some 20 years ago to save and restore McKee Botanical Gardens.   O’Malley said that, as with McKee Gardens, he wants to create at Historic Dodgertown a place in which the community can take pride. “I want people to be proud of Historic Dodgertown,” O’Malley said.

Five years ago, O’Malley stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and offered to take over the operation of the Vero Beach Sports Village, now “Historic Dodgertown,” in a partnership that included his sister, Terry Siedler; former Dodger Pitchers Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park; and Minor League Baseball.

O’Malley, who’s group, Verotown LLC, leases the property from the County, said the County Commission’s encouragement has been important in his efforts, through Callan’s leadership, to revive the facility.  “The County has been cooperative and supportive, and we want to be their best partner,” O’Malley said.

Indian River County Commission Chairman, Joe Flescher, in a prepared statement said, “We are excited that going forward the site will be known as Historic Dodgertown – Vero Beach, Florida.  It embraces the rich tradition of the property and what it has stood for since 1948.”

The then Brooklyn Dodgers first came to Vero Beach in 1948, and over the course 60 years made the names Vero Beach and the Dodgertown synonymous.

What for 60 year was known “Dodgertown,” had been a U.S. Naval Air Station during World War II. After the base closed in 1947, the property was transferred to the City of Vero Beach.  Bud L. Holman, after whom Holman Stadium is named, and other Vero Beach business leaders persuaded the Dodgers to make use of the land and the abandoned Naval barracks.

In a press release issued today, O’Malley was quoted saying, “My Dad wrote on the plaque when Holman Stadium was dedicated in 1953, ‘To Honor Bud L. Holman of the Friendly City of Vero Beach,’ and he was absolutely right.  The people of Vero Beach and Indian River County have been incredibly hospitable and supportive through all the years.”

Also released today were quotes from many Dodger greats who played and coached on the fields of Historic Dodgertown.

Dodgers’ Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda, said, “I remember the last time I walked off the field at Dodgertown, knowing that I would probably never return.  I though of the 60 years of going there for spring training.  It’s the greatest spring training complex in the United States. I’ll never love anything the way I loved going to Dodgertown.”

Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster, Vin Scully, said, “No other place in the world holds as much memories for me as Dodgertown.”

Dodgers’ All-Star pitcher and ESPN broadcaster, Orel Hershiser, said, “My time at Dodgertown was priceless.  Doing what you live in a place where everything is first class.  Thanks to the O’Malley family!!!”