Jackie Robinson Ballpark

Jackie Robinson Ballpark

105 E. Orange Avenue

The Daytona Beach City Island Ballpark opened on June 4, 1914, and is the oldest ballpark still used in Minor League Baseball. On March 17, 1946, Jackie Robinson integrated modern professional baseball while playing here in a spring training game for the Montreal Royals, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Triple-A farm team. While Robinson integrated the playing field, the 1,000 Black fans including Jackie’s wife, Rachel, were forced to sit in the segregated viewing area.

According to Spring Training Essay by Jean West, Daytona Beach was uncommonly progressive for a Florida town of the era. This could be attributed in large part to the then 70-year-old Mary McLeod Bethune, whose courageous spirit, strong relationships, and unwavering presence softened the city’s perspective on segregation creating an atmosphere that allowed Jackie to play in Daytona Beach after other cities had turned him away. The Dodgers management rescheduled several other road games into Daytona Beach, which historian Jules Tygiel described as "an island of enlightenment in a sea of bigotry." While Daytona Beach was no utopia for African Americans, no games were ever canceled there. Only Daytona Beach gave Jackie Robinson the opportunity to prove his talent.

The ballpark is currently home to the Minor League team Daytona Tortugas (Single-A Affiliate of the MLB Cincinnati Reds) and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. One of the Daytona Tortugas owners is a retired executive from Procter & Gamble. James Gamble sat on the early Board of Trustees of Bethune-Cookman, continuing these intertwined histories to the present day.

City Island Ballpark was renamed Jackie Robinson Ballpark in 1990 and a commemorative bronze statue of Robinson by Montreal sculptor Jules LaSalle was dedicated.

The site is on the Florida Black Heritage Trail and in November 1998, Jackie Robinson Ballpark was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Timeline

1914 - City Island Ballpark Built

1920s - Grandstand Constructed

1946 - Jackie Robinson Broke Color Barrier

1998 - National Register of Historic Places

2024 - Designated as Jackie Robinson Ballpark National Commemorative Site

2026 - $30 million upgrade