In 1949, the Brooklyn Dodgers did something very strange... they bought a de-commissioned WWII Naval Airforce Base (Casa Grande... not the airbase shown here). Why would they need an airforce base you may ask? Well think about it in terms of training a baseball team instead of an army. The Vero Beach based complex featured barracks to sleep 600 Major and Minor League Players... mess halls and kitchens to feed 600 Major and Minor League Players... and it even had a runway that they could fly in and out of anytime they liked without ever leaving the safety of
  their little military Spring Training site. This is important when your star player... Jackie Robinson, is getting death threats in every town he visits including your former Spring Training sites.