MLB Spring Training boosts economy in Lakeland

LAKELAND, Fla. — MLB Spring Training is in full swing in Florida with the first week of games already underway.

It’s an economic boost in the Bay area for towns near the beach, but spots further inland are seeing the benefit of baseball fans’ business, too.

Good luck getting a table inside Charlie’s Family Restaurant by Dee a couple hours before the first pitch of a Detroit Tigers game in Lakeland.

It’s packed in here, and if Delicia Ebare, who’s the ‘Dee’ in the name of the restaurant, doesn’t stay clocked in, things can get overwhelming.

“We’ve been staying on top of it this morning, more so,” she said. “But if you breathe the wrong way, you’ll get behind.”

Charlie’s has been right across the street from TigerTown since 1996, where the Detroit Tigers’ spring training facility is located.

It’s Ebare’s 27th year serving Tigers fans and says it’s pretty much like this daily for the two months major league baseball is here.

“Usually, around the beginning of February, we’ll start getting people coming and going over to the stadium,” Ebare said.

Whether it’s Detroiters or folks supporting the visiting team, the important thing for spots like Charlie’s is the money they bring with them.

According to previous reports from the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, spring training brings in over $50 million to the city’s economy.

It creates must-stop shops like Charlie’s for people looking for a bite before teams take the field.

“It brings a lot of revenue for the whole area, and it gets us seen,” Ebare said. “Like I said, traffic gets backed up and we’re in a small area, you know, shopping center. So, people get to see us when they’re stopped at the lights.”

Not to mention, with more people moving to Florida, having the Tigers take the field in Lakeland for the 88th straight year adds even more to do in this growing part of the state.

“Lakeland is growing, so we’re catching up with the rest of the surrounding cities,” Ebare said.

Loading up the local economy is creating as much excitement for folks in Lakeland as it does for Tiger fans when their team loads up the bases on the field.