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The Detroit Tigers and the City of Lakeland broke ground on a new Player Development Academy at the TigerTown complex, marking another milestone of significant investment in the organization’s present and future – which for nearly a century has been rooted in Central Florida.
Spanning approximately 60,000 square feet, this state-of-the-art facility will feature thoughtfully designed spaces for players and staff, including dining areas, meeting rooms, classrooms, recreational areas, and dormitory accommodations. Every detail was meticulously planned, drawing on both the team’s preferences and extensive research into top-tier facilities across college and professional sports.
“This development represents a transformative step forward for our organization, impacting thousands of players in years ahead,” said Scott Harris, Tigers President of Baseball Operations. “The Player Development Academy is designed to create an incredible environment that helps our youngest players transition into professional baseball, maximize their on-field skills, and ultimately put them in a position to help us win ballgames in Detroit. This investment reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence and has come together thanks to the hard work of local partners in Lakeland and members of our front office staff."
Construction will begin this fall and follows player-facing upgrades to TigerTown leading into 2025 Spring Training, which included a covered turf half-field, climate-controlled batting cages, and expanded bullpen mounds. The Player Development Academy is slated for completion in early 2027, when it will begin serving as a premier hub for nurturing future generations of Tigers, reinforcing the organization’s championship legacy.
This project follows another major development in Lakeland that was completed in 2017, bringing fan experience enhancements, new clubhouses for major and minor league players, world-class injury rehabilitation facilities, and front office space.
“This project is about more than just bricks and mortar - it’s about creating a best-in-class player experience,” said Bob Donahay, Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts for the City of Lakeland. “The new Player Development Academy will help foster an environment where players can grow, recover, and thrive, both on and off the field.”
TigerTown operates year-round, supporting off-season programs, Spring Training for hundreds of players and staff, regular season games for the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers and Florida Complex League Tigers, and rehabilitation for injured players from all levels of the organization.
Next season marks the 92nd that the Tigers have called Lakeland their home away from home, the longest continuous relationship between a Major League team and a host city. Today’s groundbreaking reflects an extension of this deep, shared commitment towards solidifying Lakeland’s legacy as a premier Spring Training location across all of baseball.
Recent Investment Across Detroit Tigers Organization
Over the last several years, there has been significant investment across the Tigers organization with the goal of elevating the fan and player experience. Investment since January 2023 has totaled over $160 million into these projects, including:
• Ongoing: Construction of the new Player Development Academy in Lakeland
• Ongoing: Planning and building of the new player academy in the Dominican Republic
• 2025: Development of the Priority Club at Comerica Park
• 2025: Baseball operations facility upgrades in Lakeland, including covered half-field and bullpens, and new indoor batting cages
• 2022-25: Renovation of the home and visiting clubhouses at Comerica Park, completed in stages across a nearly three-year span
• 2024: Purchase and renovation of a new team plane, first used by the Tigers when leaving spring training that year
• 2024: Upgrade of the Comerica Park scoreboard to better quality and larger size, ranking as the 2nd-largest in MLB
• 2024: Installation of state-of-the art LED field lighting at Comerica Park
• 2023-24: New stadium sound system at Comerica Park, completed in stages over a two-year span
• 2023: Outfield dimension changes at Comerica Park
