Baltimore Orioles May be Coming to Sarasota

Posted December 19, 2008

      Sarasota may become the spring training host town for the Baltimore Orioles.

      The prospects of a Baltimore Orioles move to Sarasota for spring training brightened significantly when the team agreed to a reduced budget and offered $5 million toward maintenance toward a new complex. The Orioles prefer the idea of replacing Ed Smith Stadium, the current spring home of the Reds, with a new facility.

      The Baltimore Orioles brought down their go-to guy, Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr., to try to close the deal. Ripken and a small entourage of Orioles staffers came to town recently to talk up the potential of an 80-acre complex that would include a stadium, practice fields and a baseball youth camp. Little League baseball and soccer players would take the field right next to the Orioles' 7,500-seat stadium.

      Orioles Vice President, John Angelos and the team's lawyer were in Sarasota recently to meet with officials and check out Ed Smith Stadium. According to the Herald Tribune, the deal being discussed with Sarasota and Sarasota County would involve $23 million in tourism tax dollars and an additional $7.2 million in Florida state money. Options being considered include renovating the current stadium or building a new ballpark on its 50 acres.

      Vero Beach and Indian River County had been courting the Orioles baseball team hoping they would hold their spring training at the now vacant Dodgertown, but talks on that deal fell through after the Orioles demanded more money from the city and county. The Orioles have held their spring training sessions in Fort Lauderdale since 1996, but a squabble between the city and the Federal Aviation Commission, which controls the land adjacent to Fort Lauderdale Stadium, has prompted the team to look elsewhere, including Sarasota County, after their current lease expires in 2010 as a way to consolidate all of their operations in a single venue.

      At about $30 million, the deal reportedly is about half the cost of a $60 million downtown ballpark Sarasota talked about building to lure the Boston Red Sox. The BoSox are currently expected to remain in Lee County. The Orioles are asking for a scaled-back stadium that would have up to 2,500 fewer seats than the ballpark that was being proposed for the Red Sox, according to a county official.

      Sarasota County has asked the city of Sarasota to commit $5 million dollars toward the deal. While the county says it needs the city's contribution to draft a baseball proposal, city officials say they want to see a plan before they commit to the $5 million.

      The baseball deal with the Orioles has been teetering for several weeks, as elected officials debate whether the team is worth the momey the project would cost. The County Commission is considering a bond issue backed by tourism tax revenue that would provide most of the funding for the new facility.

      The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce estimates attracting the Baltimore Orioles and establishment of a Ripken Baseball Academy would create 700 and generate $52 million in the local economy.

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