had continued to train at Plant Field) moved their spring operations across town to become Al López Field's new tenants. The Reds would become the major league club most associated with the ballpark, as they used the stadium and the adjacent training facilities (nicknamed "Redsland") as their spring home for almost 30 years. As part of the agreement, the Tampa Tarpons became the Reds' Florida State League affiliate in 1960 and would remain in their minor league system until 1987. Consequently, several members of Cincinnati's championship-winning "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s, including Pete Rose. Johnny Bench, and Dave Concepción, played some of their first professional baseball in Tampa with the Tarpons and later returned for spring training with the big league club. The Reds hosted the New York Yankees at the park on March 17, 1978. In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, Reds general manager Dick Wagner had green versions of the Reds' uniforms made. This was the first time a major league team wore green trimmed uniforms on March 17, a practice adopted in subsequent years by multiple major league teams for Spring Training games that fall on St. Patrick's Day. The South Florida Bulls baseball team played at Al López Field during their inaugural season in 1966, but moved to the on-campus Red McEwen Field the following year. Besides professional baseball, Al López Field regularly hosted amateur and semi-pro baseball games, including many Florida high school baseball championships, and occasionally hosted boxing and wrestling matches. Other events Al López Field was the site of several large civic events, particularly before Curtis Hixon Hall was built downtown in 1965. During a visit to Tampa in November 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered his last major speech to an overflow crowd of 10,000 people at the ballpark only days before being assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Closing and aftermath By the 1980s, the Tampa Bay area was widely discussed as a possible home for either a major league expansion team or a relocated existing team, and the site of Al López Field was considered a prime location for a new major league ballpark if Tampa received a team. With the uncertainty about the future of the site, the Tampa Sports Authority would only offer the Reds a series of short-term leases for the continued use of the ballpark and the adjacent training facilities. The team responded by building a new