The then-Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the first major league baseball teams to conduct spring training in Florida, establishing their operations in this quiet beachside town in 1948.

[2] In 2001, the Dodgers seriously considered moving their spring training operations to Arizona, but the city of Vero Beach persuaded them to stay by purchasing the Historic Dodgertown complex from the team and leasing it back for a nominal $1 per year.

With the Camelback Ranch opening in Glendale in 2009, the Dodgers joined the Chicago White Sox to share the new facility.

In addition to baseball, the Holman Stadium complex and conference center has hosted training sessions by the New Orleans Saints, the Green Bay Packers,[3] the Cleveland Browns,[4] the Buffalo Bills,[5] the New England Patriots,[6] the Kansas City Chiefs,[7] the Philadelphia Eagles,[8] and the college teams of the Miami Hurricanes,[9] the Ohio State Buckeyes[10] and the University of South Florida Bulls.

[19] Outside of sports, on March 31, 1961 at 7:30 p.m., famed evangelist Dr. Billy Graham held a Good Friday service at Holman Stadium during his Florida Crusades.

The United Football League expressed an early interest in using the Historic Dodgertown facility as a training and practice grounds, but no agreement to do so was ever reached.