‘It’s completely different:’ Renovations at Jupiter complex impress Marlins players
Step inside the Marlins Jupiter Academy, the team’s rebranded name for its renovated complex at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, and see the transformation.
There’s a modernized clubhouse. An improved kitchen and dining area. A separate players’ lounge. A standalone athletic facility.
“It’s completely different,” said Marlins reliever Anthony Bender, who has been with the organization since 2021. “They killed it. This place looks incredible.”
“We’ve been waiting for this,” added starting pitcher Braxton Garrett, who has been with the Marlins organization since being selected seventh overall in the 2016 MLB Draft. “If we just got the new weight room, I would have been fine, but did a really nice job. It looks great.”
The upgrades are part of a $140 million renovation to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium and the practice facilities for both the Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, who use the site for both spring training and for their Single A and rookie-level Florida Complex League minor-league affiliates.
“This was a total team effort,” Marlins senior vice president of facilities, projects and corporate services Tony Brasile said during the tour.
And it was a process that has been years in the making. Roger Dean Stadium, built in 1998, was long overdue for an overhaul.
The renovation began in earnest after the spring training ended last March and has been a nonstop endeavor for 11 months. There was a balancing act that had to take place, considering the facility was still being used for during the minor-league season.
“We had to get creative there,” Marlins director of clubhouse operations Simon Beloff said, “because usually we have the Hammerheads and FCL teams and rehab all working together. They had to share space. ... But we made it work. We just kept emphasizing that the end goal was this, and they understood it.”
So, what’s new?
Start with the new standalone player development building, a 12,500-square-foot facility just south of the clubhouse and west of the fields that includes a weight room, two training rooms, hydro rooms and an outdoor agility field. For comparison, the team’s old weight room prior to the renovations was only about 1,500 square feet.
Beloff said they worked closely with Marlins director of medical operations Corey Tremble and director of strength and conditioning Jeff Taylor to ensure the space had everything players needed.
The clubhouse has significantly more space. The 40,000-square-foot area used to also house the team’s weight room and training room plus a small kitchen. All of those are now in separate areas, which enabled the Marlins to utilize more of it for the players in the area they spend the most time outside of the field. All the lockers have power, even the extra ones that are set up in the middle of the room at the start of spring training when upwards of 70 players are utilizing the room at once.
The extra lockers are set up on wheels so they can easily be moved out when the spring training roster starts to get trimmed.
The Marlins’ video staff has a room near the entrance for easy access to players.
“It’s great for the players,” Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara said.
The clubhouse is connected to a new players lounge, where the players can eat away from the lockers instead of at tables in the middle of the clubhouse as was previously the case. There’s an expanded kitchen and dining area, as well. They have an on-site chef.
“We never had a real, true kitchen,” Brasile said. “We had a small closet, a nook. Really we had a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment in a way where the demands coming out of the nutrition department and the demands coming out of the kitchen warrants a full commercial kitchen.”
Meeting spaces have also been expanded and can be used for a multitude of purposes.
“This stacks right up there with the best,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Having this in Jupiter for us, we really feel like we are continuing to lay a really great foundation for where we are now as an organization and moving forward. And a big part of development is having a facility that can really support that and also that guys, when they wake up in the morning, are excited to come into work and knowing everybody has everything at their disposal to get better.”
And they’re not done yet.
Phase 2 is slated to include a batting and pitching lab that will run adjacent to the batting cages as well as reconceptualization of the back fields and some minor cosmetic work throughout the facility.
.JPG)