Several members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, such as Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Bert Blyleven, Wade Boggs, Roberto Clemente, Andre Dawson, Vladimir Guerrero, Roy Halladay, Reggie Jackson, Fred McGriff, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan, Jack Morris, Phil Niekro, David Ortiz, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Cal Ripken Jr., Mariano Rivera, Ivan Rodriguez, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Tom Seaver, Willie Stargell, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, have played at LECOM 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.

He was flown in on a biplane, which was piloted by Harry Land, a member of Manatee County Board of Trade who approved bringing major league baseball to Bradenton.

[7] During World War II, many major league teams avoided the long trip to Florida for training, opting instead to hold their sessions closer to their home cities to cut down on costs.

[8] In March 1957, the Bradenton City Council granted permission for a semi professional Negro league baseball team to play its 10 game home schedule at the ballpark.

[14] In 1962, the stadium was finally renamed after Bradenton-native, Bill McKechnie, in honor of his induction that year into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager.

[12] However, after the 1962 spring training session, Lou Perini moved the Braves to Connie Mack Field, after spending $1 million on a development in West Palm Beach.

At the time, the Indians had a ten-year contract to play at Randolph Field, located in Tucson, Arizona and were written off by Bradenton officials.

But McKechnie was still the oldest spring training facility in Florida, so city officials agreed to give the Pirates a renovated stadium to make sure they would stay.

Many of the complaints which were associated with the pre-1993 ballpark included red sand that clotted the infield, old boards serving as bleacher seats and panels hanging loose on the outfield walls.

[10] After extensive interviews and months of work, an intimate park was recommended with new grounds, wide access ramps, concession stands, kiosks and improved sight lines, while maintaining a ballpark's classic ambiance.

Workers were still putting numbers on the stadium seats while the Manatee High School band played just minutes before the first pitch on March 5.

[12] The stadium's remodeling was applauded highly by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and essayist George Will for keeping the vintage baseball park look.

[12] The renovation to the Spanish mission-style ballpark preserved the intimate, old-time atmosphere so well that USA Today dubbed it the "Fenway Park" of spring training stadiums.

Improvements also included a renovation of Pirate City, the team's southern headquarters, with new offices, player dormitories and a fifth practice field.

[5] Since the first night game was played at Wrigley Field in 1988, McKechnie had been the only ballpark used by a major league team at any time of the year that lacked lights.

Players and team officials have long been comfortable with the routine of arriving early in the morning, getting in a day's workouts and a ballgame, then enjoying a leisurely dinner at night.

However, the lack of lights meant McKechnie Field could only be used for Spring training games and the facility sat empty 11 months a year.

A lighted McKechnie Field allowed for night baseball and other events, enabling the city to use the ballpark as a catalyst in an area where officials envision an entertainment district.

[21] Pirates' alumni Bill Virdon and Chuck Tanner have both disagreed on the need for lights, stating their opinion spring training games were meant to be held in the daytime.

There is also a quote from Pirates' legend Roberto Clemente located in the locker room area that reads: "When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth."

[38] On February 10, 2017, it was announced the Pirates and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine had reached a naming rights deal, renaming the venue LECOM Park.

However, due to a deal made with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization renamed the stadium to LECOM Park in 2017.

While the city of Bradenton owns the stadium, the decision to rename McKechnie Field as LECOM Park was at the sole discretion of the Pirates.

[39] During the news conference to announce the new name, Bradenton mayor Wayne Poston said his office "was coming up empty" trying to contact Bill McKechnie's relatives.

However, according to Bill McKechnie's last living daughter, Carol Montgomery, the Pirates made no effort to notify her of the stadium's name change.

Three years ago, she threw out the first pitch at a spring training game at the park in conjunction with a tour to promote her book "The Deacon's Daughter".

[41] The accusation forced the Pirates to admit that their efforts to find surviving family members fell short and issued a formal apology.

The press release stated: "Our intent was to locate any family members living in the area to discuss with them the partnership opportunity that we were pursuing that would include the naming rights to the ballpark.

In 1989, for his book Spring Training, author William Zinsser chose McKechnie Field as a classic Florida baseball setting.