Spring Training in Lakeland: A Detroit Tigers Tradition

When the weather warms, baseball returns to Lakeland. The city has been the spring-training home of the Detroit Tigers since 1934 — the longest continuous spring-training relationship between a city and a team in Major League Baseball.

The Tigers play their spring games at Joker Marchant Stadium, and the tradition has made Lakeland a fixture on the Grapefruit League map for generations of fans.

A local rite of spring

For many residents, catching a spring game is an annual tradition — an affordable, up-close way to enjoy big-league baseball right in town. It’s one more thing that makes Lakeland’s community calendar a little brighter each year.