Built by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) on the site of what was formerly Circus World at the corner of Interstate 4 and U.S. 27 in Haines City, Boardwalk and Baseball opened on Valentine’s Day 1987 as a Florida theme park that rather unsuccessfully attempted to combine the vibe of an early 19th-century seaside boardwalk such as Atlantic City or Coney Island with an adjacent baseball stadium (“Baseball City Stadium”) that served as the Spring Training home of the Kansas City Royals until 2002. Notable attractions at 135-acre Boardwalk and Baseball included the Florida Hurricane roller coaster, Grand Rapids Flume Ride, Royal Lippizaner Horse Show, Great Moments in Baseball film and IMAX theater. In addition, ESPN taped a game show here called Boardwalk and Baseball’s Super Bowl of Sports Trivia featuring Chris Berman as host. According to a March 5, 1988, New York Times article (“Baseball by the Boardwalk”), “Neither the stadium nor the amusement park was overflowing with people today. The 7,000-seat stadium, one of the finest in Florida, had only 3,281 fans, and many drifted back and forth between the game and the rides … The Boardwalk label for the amusement park is somewhat mystifying because boardwalks are usually associated with water, and the only water in the park fills various lakes and the log flume ride.” In 1989, HBJ sold Boardwalk and Baseball to Busch Entertainment Corporation, but dismal crowds led to the closing of the theme park on January 17, 1990. According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times announcing the closure, “Boardwalk and Baseball, a switch-hitting Central Florida amusement park that tried to combine home runs and roller coasters, has struck out. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., which has owned the park since November, closed it without warning Wednesday afternoon. The corporation said the amusement … was losing money faster and faster with no prospects for improvement.” The former Boardwalk and Baseball site is now occupied by the immense Posner Park shopping complex.