An aerial view from late January shows the Atlanta Braves’ new spring training complex in North Port, Fla. (Courtesy Atlanta Braves) Natural habitats, rising developments surround new CoolToday Park Baby alligators, turtles, wild boars and baseball. What else could you want from spring training? CoolToday Park, the Atlanta Braves’ $120 million spring training complex under construction in North Port, Fla., has its fair share of critters, including young gators inhabiting a retention pond near the minor league fields behind the stadium. “Watch where you step,” said Pendulum Studio’s Jonathan Cole, the Kansas City sports architect teaming with local firm Fawley Bryant to design the ballpark. The site, situated 35 miles south of Sarasota, is part of an old cattle ranch that once spanned 10,000 acres of farmland on Florida’s west coast. The ballpark and other developments are slowly encroaching on the state’s natural habitat. Such is life. It’s all part… Continue Reading Braves at a Florida Crossroads

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