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Sarasota County, Orioles talk again about spring training

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By ROGER DROUIN

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: May 14, 2009

SARASOTA - Efforts to keep spring training in Sarasota County came back to life Wednesday with a phone call from the Baltimore Orioles.

The team is willing to accept millions less than it was demanding a few months ago, and the county says it will do what it takes to close the deal.

County Commissioner Shannon Staub said she was ready to say goodbye to baseball Wednesday. Then about two hours before commissioners were slated to talk about a deal that appeared to be all but doomed, the team's lawyer called Staub and county officials to say that a less-expensive renovation of Ed Smith Stadium was "in the ballpark," said Deputy County Administrator David Bullock.

Previously, the county had rejected a $56 million offer and made a counteroffer of $33 million, which the team rejected.

Commissioner Nora Patterson pointed out that the Orioles are willing to come down nearly $30 million from early talks.

"We are now at half of what they refused earlier," said Patterson, as commissioners voted to continue negotiations with the team.

"They have the best we can put together," Staub said of the new proposal.

While the Orioles seem eager to move to Sarasota, they are also talking with Lee County. A Lee commissioner and three other county leaders were in Baltimore this week to talk with Orioles top brass.

In the contest between Sarasota and Lee, Sarasota County officials plan to step up negotiations.

After trying to partner with the city of Sarasota on spring training for three years, the county will go it alone now.

County commissioners agreed Wednesday to offer to take over Ed Smith Stadium and borrow the bulk of the money for a $28 million renovation, reviving a deal with Baltimore.

Under the proposal, the city would sell the stadium and the land around it for $1. The county would run and own the stadium, with the team paying for all annual operating and maintenance costs.

The city and county have yet to work out an agreement on who would own the property in 30 years if the stadium does not house a baseball team.

The county's offer to bring Orioles spring training to Sarasota would require no upfront money from the city, which rejected an earlier deal that required a $2.7 million city contribution.

The city would have to borrow $7.5 million — which would be repaid by a state grant.

Four county commissioners voted for the deal on Wednesday, with Commissioner Jon Thaxton the lone vote against it.

The next step is exclusive talks between the county and Orioles, if the team agrees.

The effort to land the Orioles appeared lifeless May 4 when city commissioners said they would not contribute $2.7 million for a $41 million renovation of the city-owned ballpark.

The city also refused to bond $24 million in other construction costs that would be covered by tourism tax revenue.

"Frankly, the city has been living beyond its means for too long," wrote City Commissioner Terry Turner in an e-mail to Staub after the city's vote.

Ed Smith Stadium will be empty next year. The Cincinnati Reds, who have had spring training at there for a decade, played their last game at the park in April.

They will move to a new stadium in Arizona next year.

The future of big-league baseball at Ed Smith Stadium will come down to a contest between Sarasota and Lee to lure the Orioles.

The Sarasota commissioners also voted to require that the Orioles sign an agreement by May 22 to negotiate exclusively with Sarasota County if they are indeed still considering the deal.

The Sarasota training complex has the advantage of having its practice fields adjacent to the stadium. In Lee, the practice fields are a mile or so away from the stadium.

But Lee has the advantage of cutting down on travel costs, with the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins in the county and the Tampa Bay Rays in nearby Port Charlotte.

Another plus is that the Red Sox, a division opponent, are a guaranteed attendance draw.

The Fort Myers stadium is about five years newer than Ed Smith Stadium.

But Ed Smith Stadium also has its selling points for the Orioles, said Jeff Oldenburg, whose company has cleaned the stadium clubhouse for the past 18 years.

"Maybe they want to have their own city, a city with internationally known cachet," Oldenburg said.

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