Editing Winter Haven, Florida (section)

===Spring training baseball===
Winter Haven was a [[Major League Baseball]] [[Spring Training]] site for many years, first at [[Denison Field]] and later at [[Chain of Lakes Park]]. Great baseball players who played spring training baseball in Winter Haven included [[Jimmie Foxx]], [[Lou Gehrig]], [[Willie Mays]], [[Roberto Clemente]], [[Johnny Bench]], and [[Hank Aaron]].

In 1928, the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] were the first Major League Baseball team to call Winter Haven their spring-home.<ref name="springtraining">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201107174012/major-league-baseball/features/remembering-winter-havens-spring-training-heritage|title=Remembering Winter Haven's spring-training heritage|date=2011-07-17|website=Ballpark Digest|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-17}}</ref> The Phillies played at [[Denison Field]], which featured a large, covered wooden grandstand.<ref name="springtraining" /> The Phillies played spring training games there until 1938. In 1940, the New York Giants did one season there.<ref name="springtraining" /> After baseball left Denison, the field was donated to the city for the benefit of youth athletics. The stadium was rebuilt in 1947 with a larger grandstand and in use today for college and high school football, soccer, track and field, and other events.

In 1966, the [[Boston Red Sox]] and spring training baseball returned to Winter Haven. The Red Sox played in the newly built Chain of Lakes Park, a state of the art facility at that time.<ref name="springtraining" /> For 26 years, the Red Sox called Winter Haven their spring-home. When the Red Sox left to [[Fort Myers, Florida]] in 1992, the city of Winter Haven sought a new Major League Baseball team. Later that year, [[Hurricane Andrew]] devastated [[Homestead, Florida]], including the spring training facilities of the [[Cleveland Indians]], and the Indians moved to Winter Haven.<ref name="governing">{{Cite web|url=http://www.governing.com/blogs/view/The-Economics-of-Baseballs-Spring-Training.html|title=The Economics of Baseball's Spring Training|website=www.governing.com|access-date=2016-06-17}}</ref> In 2008, after failed negotiations with the city to renovate Chain of Lakes Park, the Indians moved into a brand new stadium in [[Goodyear, Arizona]]<ref name="governing" /> after 16 springs at Chain of Lakes Park.

In December 2020, Winter Haven and Polk County agreed to demolish the stadium and replace it with baseball diamonds and general-purpose athletic fields.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Charles A. III |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Chain of Lakes Park expansion would include demolition of former Spring Training stadium |work=Winter Haven Sun |url=https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/winter_haven_sun/chain-of-lakes-park-expansion-would-include-demolition-of-former-spring-training-stadium/article_99f77d92-3d75-11eb-8719-8fd71fe2f712.html |access-date=August 27, 2023}}</ref>