How Florida Can Keep Fifteen in the Grapefruit League
The panic button has officially been hit by Florida governor Rick Scott when it comes to holding serve in the war between his state and Arizona to attract and keep teams in their respective Spring Training leagues.
Governor Scott has been making a tour to the most at-risk Spring Training stadiums (Viera, Dunedin, Kissimmee) and vulnerable recently closed stadiums (City of Palms in Fort Myers) and touting tax credits and bond programs underwritten by state and local government to grease the skids toward keeping the existing teams in Florida and possibly stealing 1 or 2 teams from Arizona's Cactus League.
Good luck, Governor. I say good luck because Arizona has a trump card in addition to creative bonding programs and innovative revenue sources for tax credits. The Cactus League has been building two-team complexes since the early 1990s, not holding onto single-team stadiums (like Florida).
The Cactus League was behind the eight ball twenty-five years ago. They had twelve teams of the existing 28 at the time and were in danger of losing more. Then the Peoria Sports Complex was built. Peoria was built as a single complex for two teams to train and use year-round. Before you know it, the San Diego Padres were leaving Yuma and the Seattle Mariners to leave Tempe. Both teams left rickety single stadiums with no training facilities and limited practice fields. Peoria has been the Padres and Mariners home since 1993 and have no plans leaving for a while.
Governor Scott, are you catching my drift? The answer to improving Dunedin's Florida Auto Exchange Stadium is NOT dumping funds and building up the existing facility. The answer to the threat of the Blue Jays leaving Dunedin for the Cactus League is less than three miles away.
Governor: you and your economic development/tourism people need to work with the Philadelphia Phillies, Bright House Field, and the area landowners to make Bright House Field a two team complex that is filled every day in March and used every day of the year. The Clearwater Threshers and Dunedin Blue Jays can share the main stadium through the summer.
A coin can be flipped between the Astros and the Nationals on their two-team complex. I recommend Space Coast Stadium because it is wide open, but Osceola County would be prepared to make a solid effort at improvements to draw the two teams. Competition has that effect. One stadium per team in Spring Training is going the way of the dodo.
Exceptions exist. Take Tigertown in Lakeland, Florida. Remote and it still attracts great crowds from the Midwest all Spring. However, it remains unused 12 to 15 days every March. My recommendation Mr. Governor? Give incentives for teams to schedule more split squad games in March. Give tax incentives for team costs related to travel for no less than 10 split squad games and you fill single team stadiums ten more days a March.
Two-team complexes are one answer, but not the answer. If you seek common sense combinations for 4 or 5 current stadiums and make each of them into Arizona-like complexes, fans will come in droves and your costs as a state toward economic development are streamlined and made more efficient. 10 Disney Worlds are better than 14 boardwalks.
