History
One reason the stadium is named for Jackie Robinson is the fact that Daytona Beach was the first Florida city to allow Robinson to play during the 1946 season's spring training. Robinson was playing for the Triple-A Montreal Royals, who were in Florida to play an exhibition game against their parent club, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Both Jacksonville and Sanford refused to allow the game due to segregation laws. Daytona Beach permitted the game, which was played on March 17, 1946. This contributed to Robinson breaking the Major Leagues' color barrier the following year when he joined the Dodgers. The refusal by Jacksonville, previously the Dodgers' spring training home, led the team to host spring training in Daytona in 1947 and build Dodgertown in Vero Beach for the 1948 season. A statue of Robinson is now located at the south entrance to the ballpark.
The ballpark was previously the home field of the Daytona Beach Islanders (1920–24, 1936–41, 1946–66, 1977), Daytona Beach Dodgers (1968–73), and Daytona Beach Astros (1978–84). The major league Montreal Expos conducted their spring training at the park from 1973-80.
On October 22, 1998, the stadium was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This property is part of the Daytona Beach Multiple Property Submission, a Multiple Property Submission to the National Register.
The stadium sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Donna in 1960. A $2 million historic renovation project was accelerated after Hurricane Floyd ripped off the metal roofs over the seating in 1999. In 2004, the ballpark suffered moderate damage during Hurricane Charley, causing several home games to be moved to Melching Field at Conrad Park in nearby Deland
Read more about this topic: Jackie Robinson Ballpark
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