LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, and also a campus in Bradenton. It was formerly known as McKechnie Field, named for Bradenton resident and Baseball Hall of Fame great Bill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in 1925 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1940 to World Series titles. He was also a coach with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.
Several members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, such as Bert Blyleven, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Alomar, Wade Boggs, Roy Halladay, Jack Morris, Mariano Rivera, Ivan Rodriguez, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt and Ted Williams, have played at LECOM Park.
The stadium also hosts Minor League Baseball games for the Bradenton Marauders, the Pirates' Low-A affiliate in the Florida State League.
LECOM Park's nostalgic charms in its city neighborhood appeal to many baseball traditionalists and ballpark enthusiasts, some of whom consider the facility to be Florida's version of Fenway Park. It is built in a Florida Spanish Mission style, with white stucco on the main grandstand and covered bleachers over the reserved seating section. The Pirates and the City of Bradenton celebrated their 40th anniversary together during the 2008 spring training season, which included an agreement between the city and the Pirates to continue their partnership through 2037.
Built in 1923, it is the oldest stadium still used for spring training. As of the 2021 season, it is the second-oldest stadium in Minor League Baseball, behind only Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, which dates to 1914. It is also the third oldest stadium currently used by a major league team after Fenway Park, built in 1912, and Wrigley Field, built in 1914.The stadium hosted an annual charity game between the Pirates and the State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota.
Several improvements to the field were made possible through the efforts of the Bradenton Boosters, a volunteer club of local residents that not only raises funds for ballpark improvements, but also operate LECOM Park on game day. Since 1979, members of the Boosters have volunteered as the Pirates spring training game-day staff. The booster club's 120 members currently serve as ushers, program sellers, security personnel, merchandise sellers, and press box attendants throughout spring training season.