Turley Athletic Complex - Eckerd College

General Admission

History

Off to their best start in over 25 years, Eckerd College comes into the season with 3 Sunshine State Conference championships. With 30+ Eckerd players having been drafted, and the university home of Baltimore Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz, Eckerd College has a proven successful track record that they hope to continue building in the future.

Atmosphere

Located in St. Petersburg, FL, Eckerd College is located within minutes of the beach. This makes for great weather, though hot; at an early-March game, temps at first pitch were solidly in the low 80s. There is bleacher seating behind home plate and along third base, though there's limited shade. For a day game, most of the shade covers the "press box" area, though it expands later in the day. The third base stands, however, get no shade. To fill in the available shade, a solid amount of fans bring lawn chairs. Playing on a dirt field and with no videoboard, the field itself feels like an old school day at the field. For a weekday game, most fans seemed to be family, and the atmosphere is relaxed.

Concessions

There is one concession stand right as you head into Turley Athletic Complex, and it serves Coke products, candy, and chips. I'd recommend eating at one of the local restaurants in St. Petersburg, or bringing food with you from a close by fast food place just off campus.

Access

Eckerd College is just off of I-275, and there is free parking adjacent to the field. This free parking is shared by the entire complex, though, so I'd recommend cross checking the softball schedule and planning accordingly. Expect some traffic coming off the bridge from Tampa, and of course traffic in Tampa itself, so be sure to leave yourself some extra time depending on gametime. The field is also not far from Tropicana Field, just a few exits down, so also be sure to stay aware of the Rays schedule.

Final Thoughts

Eckerd College is old school baseball at its finest. If you find yourself down in St. Petersburg during baseball season, take a drive a couple exits down and catch D2 baseball at its purest.

A special thank you to everyone at Eckerd College for the warm welcome and gear!