A new West Palm Beach complex would keep five teams on the east coast.
team facility to be shared by the Astros and Toronto Blue Jays before the City Council rejected the plan in January.)
City officials pushed to host the event at the end of Clematis Street after the Palm Beach County Convention Center balked because of concerns about a lack of parking from the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show at the convention center starting Friday.
“I’m excited they chose (downtown) West Palm. We have been working closely with them to make it a special event,” said Mayor Jeri Muoio.
The initial concern about the outdoor venue was the possibility of rain. But the bigger worry now is expected cold weather — temperatures are forecast to drop into the upper-40s late Friday night after reaching a high of 69 during the day. The tents will include large space heaters. And extra valet parking staff will be on hand to keep traffic flowing.
“If we can get past those two (potential issues), it will be a home run,” said Bill Davis, a member of the county’s sports commission who helped plan the event.
Besides the Little League games, there will be a cocktail reception and silent auction of baseball memorabilia in the Lake Pavilion followed by dinner at 7 p.m. in the tents on the grass just west of Flagler Drive. The Little League games are open to the public but the dinner and cocktail reception are sold out.
The tents will be decorated with the logos of all 15 Grapefruit League teams. “When you walk in, you will know we are celebrating baseball,” said Linley.
The emcee will be former player Tommy Hutton, the Miami Marlins television analyst for Fox Sports Florida. Reid Ryan, son of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and the Astros’ president of business operations, will tell stories about growing up around spring training in Florida, and Nationals Manager Matt Williams and retired All-Star pitcher Jim Kaat are also scheduled to speak.
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed that Manfred, who last month succeeded long-time commissioner Bud Selig, will attend the dinner. Other attendees will include Nationals owner Mark Lerner and Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel.
Next year, the dinner will be held in Fort Myers at Jet Blue Park, the spring home of the Boston Red Sox.