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Detroit Tigers Spring Training has brought players and fans to Lakeland for 90 years. For more than 15 years, the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational and THE Spring Games have also attracted hundreds of high school and college teams to the area.
Both tournaments are open to the public, giving fans even more opportunities to catch a game in Polk County.
RussMatt Central Florida Invitational
The RussMatt Central Florida Invitational is the largest baseball event of its kind in the nation. This year, more than 400 teams are scheduled to play in Polk County between Feb. 16 and April 10. Southeastern, Lakeland High School, and Lake Gibson High School are among local teams participating.
Teams come from as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota to participate in RussMatt. For many teams, the games are the official start to their season — and can save schools money. In some parts of the country, travel costs are so high that it is cheaper to fly entire teams to Florida to complete.
RussMatt, named after founder Dave Barnard’s two sons, began in Tampa in 2008. Barnard, then the baseball coach at Williams College in Massachusetts, had a fan in late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a Williams College graduate.
Polk County recruited the event after the Cleveland Indians relocated their spring training from Winter Haven to Arizona in 2009. Today, RussMatt, since purchased by DS Sports Ventures, has roughly a $40 million economic impact on Polk County.
THE Spring Games
From Feb. 13 through March 28, over 240 softball teams will participate in THE Spring Games, competing in Winter Haven at the DiamondPlex Complex and Bartow at the Bartow Softball Complex.
THE Spring Games began in 2008 with 48 teams and has grown to consistently host at least 300 participating teams playing over 1,500 games each spring. Founded by two-time gold medal Olympian shortstop Dot Richardson, the event remains family owned and operated.
THE Spring Games are projected to generate nearly a $10 million economic impact on Polk County. Improvements and renovations completed in Bartow in 2024 increased demand, with nearly twice as many teams requesting the site as last year.
Offer for Polk residents
Between Feb. 28 and March 21, RussMatt games at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, or the Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale are free on Sundays for Polk County residents.
Regular season RussMatt games are $12 for adults and free for kids. A day pass for THE Spring Games is $20, $15 for seniors and the military. Children 5-12 are $10.
Find more information and schedules for RussMatt at russmatt.com/tournament-info/2026-schedule/.
Schedules and more information for THE Spring Games is available at www.thespringgames.com.
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