Mike Bauer, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
Mike Bauer is in his sixteenth season at the helm of America's busiest ballpark, serving as General Manager of Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium and Jupiter Stadium LTD. The Florida native is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the 110-acre complex, which is home to six teams and year-round baseball. There's never a dull moment at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, and Bauer has the unique task of juggling all six professional teams and the numerous amateur events each calendar year. Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium is the only complex that hosts two Major League Spring Training teams – the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins – as well as each organization's Class-A Minor League clubs – the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads. Not to mention, the facility is also home to the Cardinals and Marlins' Florida Complex League affiliates and numerous elite amateur tournaments. The 25-year-old stadium includes a 7,000 seating bowl capacity, 13 full-sized baseball fields, countless top-tier practice areas, and two state-of-the-art clubhouse facilities. Before overseeing the facility and his promotion to stadium GM, Bauer was the Assistant GM and the GM of the Jupiter Hammerheads for a season.
With non-stop action comes plenty of die-hard baseball fans. Whether it's a cloudless Spring Training game, a promotional night for a Minor League club, or action on the backfields, the stadium sees more than 300,000 people annually. While not every Cardinals and Marlins fan can make it to the ballpark for Spring Training, they can tune into their favorite teams playing on Bally Sports, MLB Network, and ESPN.
Prior to Bauer's move back to Florida, he spent four years as the Executive Director of Palace Baseball for the Class-A Asheville Tourists in Asheville, North Carolina. With the then Colorado Rockies affiliate, he was responsible for overseeing all operations associated with ticket and sponsorship sales, facility management, marketing and media relations, food and beverage, merchandising, and guest services. The Tourists experienced three of their most profitable seasons in franchise history during Bauer's four-year stint, including setting attendance records in 2006 and 2008. The Ashville organization also achieved many firsts under Bauer including national recognition on marketing campaigns, their first radio and TV broadcast, first live concert in stadium history, and many others. All of these came alongside numerous ballpark enhancements and a $2,000,000 renovation project to the historic McCormick Field.
Before joining the baseball industry, Bauer began his professional journey in 2000 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amelie Arena). Beginning as a Suite Services Manager, Bauer moved up through the organization to Guest Services Manager and ultimately Front of House Manager in 2003. In his final role with the Lightning, Bauer managed a staff of nearly 500 while providing guest services for events such as the Stanley Cup Finals, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and countless concerts including U2, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones to name a few.
When he's not at the ballpark, Bauer is often found supporting Palm Beach County and serving on various not-for-profit boards. Bauer is heavily involved with the Jupiter Police Foundation (Immediate Past President), United Way of Palm Beach County (Executive Board Member), Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce (In-coming Chair), the Palm Beach County Sports Commission (Ex-Officio Board Member) and was recently named President of the Leadership Palm Beach County board.
The proud University of Florida graduate earned a Bachelor of Arts in Management with a Minor in Mass Communications in 1998 and later achieved a Master of Exercise and Sports Science degree. He and his wife of 21 years have two boys, Luke and Chase, while residing in Jupiter.