PRESS RELEASE – The Minnesota Twins and CenturyLink today announced an expansion of their long-standing, multi-faceted partnership, which will now include naming rights for the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. now known as the Lee County Sports Complex. Since its inception in 1991, the newly-named CenturyLink Sports Complex remains the year-round player development center and Spring Training home of the Minnesota Twins.
In Minneapolis, CenturyLink helps provide a state-of-the-art fan experience at Target Field as the Official Communications Provider for the Minnesota Twins and Target Field. The Twins and CenturyLink have also extended their sponsorship agreement at Target Field. Terms and duration of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are proud of our ongoing relationship with CenturyLink and look forward to expanding our partnership into Lee County and Southwest Florida,” said Twins President Dave St. Peter. “CenturyLink has been a valued partner of the Minnesota Twins for nearly a decade and this is the next step in growing this mutually beneficial relationship.”
The Twins will open their 25th Spring Training season at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in 2015. The CenturyLink Sports Complex is home to Hammond Stadium, five additional playing fields as well as the new Twins Player Development Academy. It is also the home to two Twins’ minor league affiliates, housing both the Ft. Myers Miracle of the Single-A Florida State League and the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Twins. In addition, the complex features four state-of-the-art softball fields, which are utilized throughout the year by collegiate and community teams.
“Expanding CenturyLink’s sponsorship with the Minnesota Twins allows fans to have an enhanced game day experience with state-of-the-art ballpark technology at CenturyLink Sports Complex,” said Duane Ring, CenturyLink Midwest region president. “As fans and the community mark 25 years in Florida, CenturyLink is excited about the future for all fans and our continued partnership with the Twins.”
The CenturyLink Sports Complex is in the midst of a major renovation aimed at ensuring the facility remains one of the best in Major League Baseball for players and fans. In total, the renovations include $48.5 million in upgrades to the complex — $42.5 million contributed from Lee County and the remaining $6 million from the Twins.
The first phase of the renovations at CenturyLink Sports Complex was unveiled in February 2014 and included renovations to the Minor League clubhouse and administrative areas, an agility field, an expanded Hammond Stadium seating capacity of 9,300 seats, a new parking lot and the completion of a 360-degree boardwalk and concourse.
The second phase of renovations, scheduled for completion in February 2015, will include upgraded and expanded concourses, improved concessions, renovations to the restrooms, premium seating improvements, the expansion of the clubhouse, a new retail store, new spaces for group seating and renovations to the administrative offices and the media facilities. CenturyLink will install a fully converged network, including expanded wireless local area network (LAN) coverage, fully supported point of sale concessions and ticket-processing technology. In addition, CenturyLink will include several internal upgrades, such as unified communications and IP-enabled phones. All of these upgrades will benefit the Twins fans, staff and players.
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