Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB takes over Dodgertown, renames it for Jackie Robinson

Published Apr. 2, 2019 4:53 p.m. ET

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The former Dodgertown spring training camp will be named the Jackie Robinson Training Complex and be used for Major League Baseball's amateur development initiatives.

Then based in Brooklyn, the Dodgers started training in Vero Beach in 1948. The franchise moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season but kept spring training at Vero Beach through 2008. The team shifted to Glendale, Arizona, the following year.

MLB took operating control of the complex on Jan. 2 and intends to build an indoor training facility. The sport is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier with the Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

MLB made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference attended by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and members of Robinson's family, including wife Rachel, daughter Sharon and son David.