This has been in the news for the past couple days, and I thought I'd consolidate info here for discussion.

Nick Cafardo, Globe - On Baseball: Alternative may be springing up in Sarasota

Sox chief operating officer Mike Dee doesn't want to make too much of his discussions just yet, but he confirmed yesterday, after the story broke on ballparkdigest.com, that he met with Sarasota officials last Friday after they called the team earlier in the month to ask about their interest once they learned the Reds were accepting a deal to relocate to Goodyear, Ariz.

There were all sorts of ideas floating around last night. There was even talk of making a new spring home a mini replica of Fenway Park.

The Sox' lease at City of Palms Park runs through 2019, but there is an out clause that allows them to leave after the 2009 exhibition season if Fort Myers was unable to accommodate the team's growing needs. They might be nearing that fork in the road.

Sarasota's proposal for the Reds would have included a $41 million renovation of the Ed Smith Complex. The Sox seem to be looking for a new facility, and Dee said he has talked with Lee County officials about building a new facility in Fort Myers. There is a 50-acre parcel in Sarasota that could be used to build an elaborate complex, complete with a hotel, shops, restaurants, a dorm for minor league players, and other amenities.



Jeff Horrigan, Herald - Red Sox Notebook: Jonathan Papelbon makes special delivery

According to www.ballparkdigest.com and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Sox have held initial discussions with a Sarasota city official about the possibility of relocating their spring training home. City manager Robert Bartolotta said the Sox have interest in replacing the Cincinnati Reds, who are departing for Arizona after 11 years at Ed Smith Stadium.

The Sox are unhappy about the divided situation in Fort Myers - the minor league camp is approximately two miles away from City of Palms Park - as well as the condition of the neighborhood surrounding the downtown ballpark. Their current lease doesn’t expire until 2019 but they can buy out the remainder beginning in 2011 if they are unable to find another team to assume it.


Michael Sliverman, Herald - Red Sox Notebook: Red Sox eye Sarasota as spring site


The Sox appear ready to exercise the option to get out of their City of Palms lease well before the Dec. 31, 2009 deadline.

Travel is the primary factor in the move. The Red Sox’ only Fort Myers neighbor is the Minnesota Twins. Aside from crosstown Mayor’s Cup games, the Sox’ shortest bus ride is 77 miles to Sarasota, with longer rides to Tampa (127), Jupiter and Fort Lauderdale (each 140). The players and staff spend more time on buses than other teams, and being more centrally located in Sarasota would ease that burden.

Sean McAdam and Paul Kenyon, ProJo - Decision looms over new spring site

BOSTON — In all likelihood, the Red Sox will decide between remaining in Lee County and moving their spring training headquarters to Sarasota sometime over the next 30 days.

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Sarasota offers the additional benefit of being within an hour’s drive of seven other Grapefruit League teams. In Fort Myers, which the Sox share with the Minnesota Twins, the next closest spring training site is Sarasota itself, although the Tampa Bay Rays plan to move into the vacant complex in nearby Port Charlotte next spring.

If the Sox decide to remain in southwest Florida, it’s likely that the team would build a new complex in the Estero-Bonita Springs area, some 10-12 miles south of Fort Myers. The current complex, City of Palms Park, is just outside downtown Fort Myers and offers little room for expansion.

It seems like the move is a no brainer. They will be closer to other teams to ease travel and they will be able to accomodate more fans. It'll be a shame for the people and small businesses of Winter Haven but a move makes sense.


Edit: Winter Haven??? Man, I'm showing my age.

Hopefully we can retire as Mayor's Cup Winners in the last season there.

I despise any team that moves to Arizona. Spring Baseball means Florida. Execs who more their spring complexes to Zona are going to hell.

Sarasota would be good for one thing at least - its a heck of a lot closer to Tampa, which is a much more fun place to stay than Ft. Myers.

Glenn Miller - Red Sox look into moving from Fort Myers to Sarasota for spring training



“The headline here I would absolutely characterize as nothing but exploratory at this point,” said Mike Dee, the Red Sox chief operating officer. “That would be the operative word. They came knocking on our door. We are in a position to hear them out. We decided to do that and see where the road takes it.

“This is not a signal we have a foot out the door or we’re looking to relocate. We're very happy where we are.”




Glenn Miller - Red Sox ‘explore’ move to Sarasota

Lee County Deputy Administrator Bill Hammond doesn't believe Southwest Florida fans should be worried the Red Sox, who have won two World Series in the past four years, will leave soon.

"Anything is possible, but right now I wouldn't give it a second thought," Hammond said. "We'll have plenty of time for that at the right time."

Red Sox officials have insisted they like Lee County, City of Palms Park and the training complex a little more than two miles east of the stadium.

"We're very pleased," said Dee, who visited Sarasota with Todd Stephenson, the Red Sox director of Florida operations. "We couldn't have a better relationship with the folks of Lee County."

But the facilities, as they're laid out now, are less than ideal, Dee said.

"In themselves, they're good facilities and maintained as well as anybody maintains a facility in Major League Baseball," he said.

...

Henderson is taking the possibility the Red Sox may move seriously. He said the city and county should consider a way to build a training facility near the stadium.

"I would tell you it's doable," Henderson said. "It would not be an easy thing to do. If this is something that comes out of this I believe we have to look into that."

Henderson believes city and county officials should be prepared.

"It would be devastating to lose them," Henderson said. "We have a wonderful asset but there's going to be other attractive ballclubs."

Roger Drouin - Red Sox look toward Sarasota

SARASOTA — After losing one major league baseball team and getting spurned by two others, Sarasota's search for a replacement to play spring ball here has finally caught the attention of a star prospect — the world champion Boston Red Sox.

Following weeks of confidential discussions that included several visits to Sarasota, a top Red Sox official said the team is seriously considering a move to Sarasota.

Red Sox's chief operating officer Mike Dee also said he is impressed with Sarasota and the potential for a renovated or new spring training complex here.

"Sarasota is a spectacular city with great amenities," Dee said.

Naples Daily News

Tom Hanson - Putting a curse on potential Red Sox spring training move

If the Red Sox left the City of Palms for greener pastures and an all-in-one facility in Sarasota, they’ll have to deal with a new hex.

“Oh, the Curse of Wilbur Smith,” joked Mike Dee, the Red Sox chief operating officer.

Yes, for those of you with short memories, it was Smith, the former mayor of Fort Myers, who passionately pursued the beleaguered Boston franchise by promising them a World Series title.

It's true that the neighborhood around the ballpark (i.e. Rt. 41, MLK, and sidestreets) is unattractive, to say the least. I've been to spring training for the last 5 years or so and would love to be able to strike the sight of that neighborhood from my mind. However, the Sox spring training is probably one of the few sources of stimulus to that area. The local churches and Red Cross (and even some homeowners) must take in quite a loot in parking fees, which move in lockstep with the official lot's price increases. I've seen cleaning and concession workers walking back to their living quarters, which happens to resemble a decayed motor inn turned crack house.

It's not the job of the Sox to be the social conscience of southwest Florida but it would be nice to see them try to leverage their influence on the town to 1) get what they need in terms of facilities and 2) clean up the neighborhood a little bit. The team's departure from Ft. Myers could only hurt the people who depend on that seasonal income.

I frankly didn't realize it was such a dump. I know as a fan, I don't like Fort Myers because every time I've looked into going to spring training, there's been NOWHERE to stay.

Sarasota sounds like a much better option.

I hear Dodgertown is open, too!

I think that the Dodgers leaving Dodgertown is a shame. They were there since the days of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I guess it is more practical to be in Arizona, but why does everything have to be practical. As for the Red Sox moving to Sarasota, my sister lives in Sarasota (free lodging for me!).

I didn't realize that the Sox or Dodgers were leaving their spring training facilities. I got my autograph from Pedro when he was first with the Dodgers in Vero Beach.

I love Sarasota and hope the Sox go there. That area has great beaches (Siesta Key, Longboat Key) and is only a couple hours from Orlando and theme parks. Sarasota also has great places to go out and is a good city in and of itself. A first class facility in a first class city is the way to go.

Roger Drouin - The windup before Sarasota delivers a Red Sox pitch

Several local elected officials are hoping Red Sox euphoria is strong enough to get the community to rally behind the idea of bringing the team here, even though doing so will undoubtedly cost more than the $41 million deal negotiated with the Cincinnati Reds to renovate the aging Ed Smith.

That deal -- put together after voters narrowly rejected a tax increase to help pay for the stadium renovations -- came too late, just as the team was finalizing its move to Arizona for spring training.

This time, the business and tourism communities are stepping up early in the game. They say the Red Sox Nation of loyal fans would bolster Sarasota's tourism base.

Naples Daily News

David Moulton - Lee and Collier should do what it takes to keep Sox

In fairness, the Red Sox have a good spring training set up but by no means is it great. They do not have enough ball fields so that all of their players can work out at the same site. They have to bus it a few blocks to some nearby practice fields. City of Palms Park has locker rooms that are OK but not plush. Without making the Red Sox sound picky, their point is "things are OK but could be better." Six miles away, the Twins have a much better spring training situation.

Does it really matter what team occupies City of Palms Park in February and March? If Boston leaves, Baltimore and Milwaukee will be knocking on our door. Do we let the Sox buy their way out of their contract for a million dollars next year and just replace them the way we replaced Pittsburgh with Kansas City, and the Royals with the Red Sox?

Here's what it will take to keep the Red Sox.

1) City or County has to buy some more land around the stadium and build enough ball fields so that the entire organization can operate in one spot. Can you say "eminent domain?" This will get messy.

2) Upgrade clubhouses and some other amenities.

In other words, Fort Myers/Lee County, you do all the heavy lifting (arm twisting of residents or going to court), raise whatever taxes/fees you have to, and we'll be more than happy to stay.

The cold hard truth is at some point you are going to have to this anyway. Whether it is for the Sox or someone else. Might as well do it now. It will cost you less.

Can't find downside to this deal

Long before John Henry became principal owner of the Red Sox, the 58-year-old native of Quincy, Ill., made his fortune as a futures and foreign exchange trading adviser.

In 1981, he founded John W. Henry & Company. In 2006, Boston Magazine estimated his net worth at $860 million.

With that kind of bank, you'd expect Henry to exhibit a taste for some of life's more affluent rewards -- the arts, theater, fine dining.

No shot and a beer for this guy.

Well, he does, and that's the driving force behind any Red Sox exit from Fort Myers.

What we have, and what they do not. The freedom, for example, to select from a host of restaurant options, as opposed to settling for bland franchise fare.

There is no doubt that Sarasota caters to the "rich and famous" and it's a great place to go out at night. It wouldn't be better for just John Henry. It would be better for all Sox fans making the trip down. If the Sox can improve their physical situation with respect to facilities and get to Sarasota, this move should happen. There is also no reason the Red Sox should play second fiddle in terms of facilities to the Twins. That's just wrong.

Editorial: Don't go nuts to keep Red Sox

Let's see what sweetening of their deal the Red Sox would be content with to stay, but if they depart, another major league team can likely be recruited.

Don't count on a professional sports franchise to return the loyalty fans here have shown for years. It doesn't work that way.

Fort Myers has a beautiful baseball stadium in City of Palms Park and an excellent practice facility, even if it is located inconveniently, 2 miles east of the stadium.

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The Red Sox are at the top now, defending World Series champs and the objects of fierce devotion. They have sold out City of Palms for years now. Fort Myers gets some nice free publicity from be the spring home of one of the handful of most-followed teams in America.

But keeping them is not worth another explosion of self-crippling debt such as the one the city indulged in to get the Red Sox here in the first place.

Roger Drouin - Group Seeks To Bring Red Sox To Sarasota

Souza's group will be talking about the economic benefits, including how good the team has been for Fort Myers, if the city or county ends up asking voters for more money to build a stadium.

City officials say they don't know how much the stadium will cost. But it is likely to cost more than the $41 million deal for a renovated Ed Smith Stadium for the Reds. The Red Sox want a stadium bigger than the 7,500-seat stadium, and the team also wants practice fields in one spot.

One option for the new stadium is the 90-acre fairgrounds off Fruitville Road. City Manager Robert Bartolotta said he will meet with fair board members soon; city officials aim to have a conceptual deal together in two months.

Phil Denis - Red Sox GM checks out Ed Smith Stadium

SARASOTA — Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and several other team officials were at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday afternoon prior to the start of the FHSAA Baseball Finals Class 1A and 3A championship games. Among those joining Epstein was Boston vice president of player personnel Ben Cherington.

The Red Sox contingent was observed around the pitching mounds and batting cages near the current Cincinnati Reds administration building behind the right-field wall. The group also walked around the stadium area and checked out the four adjacent fields known as the City of Sarasota Sports Complex.

Roger Drouin - Stadium proposal reignites debate; Sarasota may hire a consultant to gauge its local economic impact

SARASOTA — Residents are sounding off about the value of baseball since county officials suggested a $70 million funding package to bring the Boston Red Sox here for spring training.

They are firing off e-mails to elected officials. Some say it is a steal -- sign the Red Sox up now.

Others say there is no way the team can be worth it, especially at a time when the city and county are laying off employees and cutting back services.

City commissioners want a quick answer. On Monday, they will decide whether to pay a consultant $30,000 to try to determine how many people will fill area restaurants and hotels while here to see the Red Sox.

The study will look into the economic impact of the Red Sox compared with that of the Cincinnati Reds, who are moving their operations to Arizona in 2010.

Roger Drouin - Many factors put spin on baseball investment

FORT MYERS — Brian Dodson doesn't need any economic studies to tell him Boston Red Sox spring training is good for business.

Every March baseball fans spill out from his Hideaway Sports Bar and fill a row of tables on the sidewalk as they drink the "coldest beer in Fort Myers." Dodson estimates that business doubles during the month or so the team is in town.

It is that kind of business that prompted Sarasota officials to take a shot at luring the team from Fort Myers. But one thing officials in both cities acknowledge is whoever gets the team, it will not be cheap.

Fort Myers recently paid $5 million to renovate the City of Palms Park and taxpayers are on the hook for another $1.2 million a year to maintain it.

Officials here are putting together a $70 million deal that is even sweeter.

Whether spending so much public money on a spring training team is worth it is a question that business owners, tax watch groups and economists have been debating for years.

Roger Drouin - Fair site may move to make room for Red Sox

SARASOTA — A group of city and county officials and fair board members took the first step to clear space for a new Boston Red Sox spring training stadium on Fruitville Road.

The group voted 10-1 Thursday to study moving the fair from Fruitville Road to 40 acres of county land at Twin Lakes Park, off Clark Road.

If the vote had gone the other way, it could have killed the Red Sox deal. Local officials are trying to entice the team to leave their spring training home in Fort Myers and come to Sarasota.

Local government officials have coveted the 90-acre fairgrounds on Fruitville Road for years, and have proposed a baseball stadium there before. Last time, negotiations went nowhere.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080...=73320337411407

Three and a half minute video with analysis of where this thing stands from a Sarasota perspective.

The Naples News

Charlie Whitehead - Sarasota officials continue to court Red Sox

Sarasota officials think Fort Myers and Lee County have 60 million reasons to want to keep the Boston Red Sox.

Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta says having the Red Sox in Fort Myers likely means $60 million annually to the local economy. He also believes losing the Cincinnati Reds after the 2009 spring training season will cost his community $35 million to $40 million.

“I would venture to say the Red Sox are worth $50 (million) or $60 million in Fort Myers,” said Barbetta, the man appointed by his board as the county’s point man in its effort to secure the team.

The Naples News

Brad Kane - Bring us the Red Sox, Sarasota residents say; About 300 Sarasota residents turn out at gathering to gauge interest in snagging Red Sox away from Fort Myers

SARASOTA — Lee County might soon be waving goodbye to the Boston Red Sox if the hopes and dreams of 300 Sarasota residents come to fruition.

The grassroots organization Citizens for Sox, which is trying to get the World Champions to leave its Fort Myers spring training facilities, held a rally in Sarasota on Thursday night to gauge the interest of a community that has been lukewarm on baseball.

“One thing I realized about Sarasota is there is not a lot of economic growth here,” said Roland Castonguay, Sarasota resident and Boston fan. “If the Red Sox came here, that would be incredible for me.”

The proposal to bring the Red Sox to Sarasota got an overwhelming roar of approval at the rally as the 300 Red Sox fans and business owners kicked off a public campaign to renew spring training.

Roger Drouin - Red Sox fans pack meeting

But even Weeks -- who grew up watching the Milwaukee Braves spring training in Bradenton -- acknowledged that luring the Red Sox from Fort Myers, where they have trained for the past 15 years, will not be cheap. County and city officials are preparing proposals that could range up to $70 million.

"I still wonder who will pay for it," Weeks said. "It will be $120 million by the time they are done with it."

City Commissioner Kelly Kirschner and County Commissioner Joe Barbetta spoke to the audience and answered questions.

Barbetta told the audience that having the Red Sox in Sarasota would boost the economy more than just the month the team would train here each year. The stadium would be an incentive for New Englanders and business owners to move down here, he said.

The Naples News

Charlie Whitehead - Red Sox, Lee County talk about potential spring training sites

Boston Red Sox CEO Mike Dee sat down with Lee County parks director John Yarbrough on Tuesday to look at aerial photos — and keep Sarasota from luring the team away.

The two were looking for potential sites for a new stadium, focusing on land adjacent to the team’s current spring training home — City of Palms Park in downtown Fort Myers.

They kept looking, however. Yarbrough says they looked at possible locations for a new facility all across the county, including looking south to stretches of undeveloped land east of Interstate 75.

“It hasn’t changed,” Yarbrough said. “Our first priority is still to find a way for the Red Sox to stay at City of Palms. That would require additional land around City of Palms, and that would require the city’s cooperation.”

Glenn Miller - Officials discuss Red Sox future in Southwest Florida

Potential improvements to the stadium and alternate sites such as Florida Gulf Coast University and land east of Interstate 75 are on the table, according to John Yarbrough, Lee County's parks and recreation director.

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The Red Sox were represented at the meeting by Chief Operating Officer Mike Dee and Todd Stephenson, the team's director of Florida operations. Dee didn't return calls for comment and Stephenson is not authorized by the team to speak on the issue.

The team's five-field practice facility is at the east end of Edison Avenue, about two miles from the stadium. That inconvenience is one reason the Red Sox are thinking about leaving.

The Red Sox have a lease with Lee County that runs through 2019 but they can exercise an escape clause as early as 2009 by paying a $1 million fee. That escape fee then drops $100,000 a year for the life of the lease

Roger Drouin - The pitch: baseball by the bay

SARASOTA — The newest concept being floated to land the Red Sox mixes two of Sarasota's tourism draws — baseball and the bayfront.

A group of prominent business leaders is pushing for a spring-training stadium to be built on 42 acres of city-owned bayfront land that is now set aside for a cultural-arts district.

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ballpark by the bay raises several questions, however.

The biggest unknown is how it would impact a cultural arts district proposed for the land.

The property was set aside for the district, including an expanded Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, symphony, theater and other arts venues. Last year, the City Commission approved a master plan laying out the complex. But the $86 million price tag coincided with a nearly $9 million city budget shortfall. The shortfall has grown since then.

The City Commission would have to rescind the master plan before moving ahead with a stadium, and there has been no indication that commissioners are willing to do that, Schneider said.

Traffic is another big issue. U.S. 41 in front of the property is one of the most congested roadways in the city. Spring training would put even more cars on the road during the peak tourist season.

Naples Daily News

Red Sox's Dee issues statement regarding negotiations with Sarasota

"The Boston Red Sox categorically deny that the team has imposed any type of deadline in its discussions with Sarasota officials regarding spring training facilities,'' chief operating officer Mike Dee said in a statement released by the team Tuesday.

"The Red Sox view discussions with Sarasota City and County officials as on ongoing process that will run its course in due time.''

"We will continue to explore all options, including Lee County and Sarasota, pertaining to our future spring training operations.''

Doug Sword - County sends Red Sox six stadium footprints

Sarasota County sent the Boston Red Sox six possible configurations for a new spring-training facility asking that the team pick how big of a footprint it wants for the complex, the seating capacity of the stadium and other features.

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Ley told county commissioners Wednesday that knowing generally what the team wanted would be an important step in estimating the project’s cost.

“All we’re trying to do is get a rough feeling over concepts,” he said.

Two commissioners said they were unhappy with financing proposed by City Manager Bob Bartolotta, who suggested in an e-mail that the $80 million project could be financed largely through $45 million in county bed tax collections and economic development impacts.

Glenn Miller - If Lee builds a new home for the Red Sox ...WHERE WILL IT BE? Sites near I-75 draw most attention

This topic has surfaced in recent weeks because Sarasota is making a run to lure the
Red Sox. Although the Red Sox lease with Lee County runs through 2019, the team has an escape clause that could allow it to skedaddle as soon as the end of spring training next year by paying a $1 million fee.

The Red Sox will probably need an 80- to 100-acre chunk of Lee County real estate for a stadium, six practice fields, offices, weight rooms, locker rooms, parking, concession stands and all the other amenities that will surround a 10,000-to 12,000-seat stadium.

The developer who might sell or give away land for such a site would immediately increase the value of any remaining property and make it easier to attract commercial and retail interest.

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That would take a lot of work. The Red Sox have said they’d like to have their stadium and practice fields on the same site. The Red Sox have worked for 15 years with a split facility, with the stadium at the corner of Broadway and Edison Avenue and the five-field practice facility about two miles east on Edison.

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To make the downtown site work for the Red Sox, it would probably require the purchase of chunks of land adjacent to the stadium.

“It would probably be the best plan for the city but not the best plan for the Red Sox,” Woodyard said.

Glenn Miller - Sarasota commission accepts study valuing Sox economic impact at $46.5 million

Sarasota’s pursuit of the Boston Red Sox moved forward a bit more this afternoon when the city commission voted unanimously to accept a study that pegged the team’s potential annual spring training economic impact at $46.5 million. The city commissioners also directed the city manager to look at “multiple sites” to locate a new spring-training facility.

A draft of the report by CSL, a Minnesota company, was released last week and pegged the potential Red Sox impact on Sarasota at $47.7 million per year.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080...er_in_Sox_talks

New plan has Sox going to site of pre 1958 Sox Spring Training Stadium in Sarasota.

I don't think this is going to work:

If the stadium were built at Payne Park, the team's practice fields would be a mile away at Ed Smith Stadium.

That's like the situation now, and they don't like it.

Glenn Miller - Sarasota effort to lure Red Sox in a bit of a slump; Lee County optimistic about its chances

The Sarasota City Commission will discuss at a meeting today a proposal to build a stadium for the Boston Red Sox at a site that was once the team’s spring home.

Payne Park is now a community park, but a baseball stadium once was on the site near downtown Sarasota. It was the home of the Red Sox from 1933 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1958.

The plan calls for a 10,000-seat ballpark. The project calls for a split facility similar to one the Red Sox have used in Fort Myers since they moved here from Winter Haven in 1993. The Red Sox play their home spring training games in Fort Myers at City of Palms Park. Their practice fields are about two miles east.

The new Sarasota proposal would place the practice fields about a mile away. The Red Sox have let Lee County officials know they’d like to have a combined facility.

Sarasota officials had previously tried to cobble together a three-way land swap between the city and the county and a county fair group that would have provided a larger chunk of land for a new all-in-one baseball facility. That deal fell through.


...

Jeff Mielke, executive director of the Lee County Sports Authority, doesn’t see why the Red Sox would leave a city with a split facility to go to another city with a split facility.

“I would be shocked if they settled for something like that when all along they told us they’re trying to get a spring training facility to resemble what the (Minnesota) Twins have,” Mielke said

Glenn Miller - Sarasota proposes old site for new ballpark

The Sarasota City Commission has decided on a location to build a spring-training ballpark for the Boston Red Sox. They voted to build a stadium at Payne Park, which had been the site of the spring home of the Red Sox in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

The Sarasota County Commission, a separate entity, will vote on the proposal to buy an additional 1.2 acres at the site that the city already approved. The county commission will meet Tuesday.

“It will be fish or cut bait time,” Sarasota County Commissioner Paul Mercier said.

The Red Sox are mum about the Payne Park possibility or any other that has been floated in Sarasota as city and county officials there try to lure the Red Sox from their spring home in Fort Myers.


...

A new stadium at Payne Park is one of two possibilities for Sarasota. The other one is building a ballpark on the site of Ed Smith Stadium, the current spring home of the Cincinnati Reds, who have one more year remaining in Sarasota before moving to Goodyear, Ariz.

An issue for the Red Sox in Fort Myers is dealing with a split facility. Games are played at City of Palms Park. A five-field practice facility is about two miles east on Edison Avenue.

The latest Sarasota scenario calls for a split facility with a stadium at Payne Park and practice fields at a nearby facility.

Michael S. Schmidt - In Florida, Suitors Line Up for the Red Sox

SARASOTA, Fla. — Officials trying to prop up the sagging economy here are convinced they have found a remedy: annexing a piece of Red Sox Nation.

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There have been friendly calls from local politicians to team executives, a pledge to build a replica of Boston’s Fenway Park, and discussions about both a public land purchase and an increase in the tourism tax to pay for the stadium and improvements to an existing minor league complex. A grass-roots organization called “Citizens for Sox” has even formed to help in the effort.

The officials here say the team would attract more tourists and businesses than any other major league franchise. They hope the relocation would help lift real estate prices, increase the number of flights to and from Boston and boost construction.

“This is not just about baseball,” said Joe Barbetta, a Sarasota County commissioner. “It is about the Red Sox brand.”

Kelly Kirschner, the commissioner from the city of Sarasota who has teamed with Barbetta to try to attract the team, added from across the table, “We have never seen 4,000 people get together about anything, let alone a baseball team.”

Sean McAdam, ProJo - Red Sox closer to deal on moving spring training to Sarasota


Tentative plans calls for the construction of a new ballpark that will offer about 10,000 seats and room for another 2,000 in an unreserved seating berm.

The team’s player-development complex for minor-leaguers would be housed at the current Ed Smith Stadium, which, until recently, was the spring home of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Sox have an escape clause from their lease at City of Palms ballpark after the 2009 Grapefruit League season, but likely wouldn’t move to Sarasota until February 2011.

The team has been waiting for a counterproposal from Lee County, which governs their current spring training home in Fort Myers, but none has been forthcoming.

Next up for Sarasota County officials: a determination of the actual cost of construction — estimated at $60 million to $80 million — and the negotiations for a lease with the Red Sox.

Plans call for the county to fund the project from a special Tourist Development Tax.

Proponents deserve to make their final pitch for the Sox, but time is running out

The appeal of the Red Sox -- and their reach throughout high-tech, higher education New England -- prompted Sarasota tourism officials and a group of city and county commissioners to begin a new effort to find a suitable location and craft a different financing plan for a stadium project.

For better and worse, the search for a stadium site resembled a different game -- pin the tail on the donkey. A logical location, the spacious fairgrounds on Fruitville Road, didn't work due to the fair association's inflexibility. A proposal to use a cement plant near downtown Sarasota fell apart because of site constraints.

Then the county administrator, city manager and the baseball project's leading proponents on the two commissions unveiled an intriguing idea that called for building an urban-style, mixed-use stadium downtown at Payne Park -- where the Red Sox held spring training from 1933 to 1958.

The Payne Park plan has short- and long-term strategies. The first move entails public purchase of five parcels, in private ownership, next to the park.

Glenn Miller - City of Palms Park, Fort Myers not eliminated from Red Sox's spring training plans

Fort Myers and City of Palms Park have not been eliminated from consideration as a long-term future spring-training home for the Boston Red Sox.

That was part of the message former Lee County parks and recreation director John Yarbrough brought into a meeting in a fourth-floor conference room this morning at Fort Myers City Hall.

“The city has not been crossed off the list,” Yarbrough said in the meeting.

Glenn Miller - Fort Myers Red Sox stadium no help to neighbors; City of Palms Park failed to spark development

Nearly two decades after many Fort Myers officials said that building City of Palms Park would spur development, little has changed in the central Fort Myers neighborhood where the Red Sox play their spring training games.


Politicians and planners hailed the ballpark as a vehicle that would drive new housing, retail and hotel development.

But now, 15 years after the stadium opened and 17 years after Fort Myers City Council approved building the ballpark, there are no new hotels, shops or housing developments.

Old houses, small apartment complexes and graying strip malls still dominate the neighborhood.

Exactly what former Fort Myers city councilman and mayor Bruce Grady predicted.

"My prediction is there will never be any substantial development. I think anyone who knows anything about real estate knows that stadiums are not good neighbors," Gray said in 1993.

Drew Sterwald - Tale of the tape: Sarasota, Fort Myers vying for Red Sox

Sarasota’s bid to steal the Boston Red Sox’s spring training base from Fort Myers has people wondering just that. Making matters worse for the City of Palms’ collective ego: talk it’s not all about the baseball facilities offered. Some of the team’s bigwigs might be looking for a swankier lifestyle.

“The real issue is that (owner) John Henry doesn’t like the area,” former Fort Myers Mayor Wilbur Smith told The News-Press. “It’s not nice enough. He wants to be in a new, manicured area like Sarasota or Bonita.”

Smith may have the inside scoop because he lured the Sox here from Winter Haven in 1993.

The club reportedly also wants luxury hotels, shopping and restaurants nearby where executives can schmooze.



Glenn Miller - New Englanders gripe about 'gritty' Fort Myers

Fort Myers has been spring-training home of the Red Sox since 1993. Sarasota has been working for six months on plans to lure the team.

Visitors to a Red Sox fan site known as bostondirtdogs.com found a headline comparing "gritty" Fort Myers to "swanky" Sarasota.

Such opinions are not uncommon.

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Seth Mnookin, author of a book about the Red Sox ownership group, "Feeding the Monster," had his turn.

Every spring the Boston Globe offers on its Web site, boston.com, tips on restaurants and attractions in Southwest Florida.

Mnookin couldn't resist offering this observation on his blog in 2007: "I've been to Fort Myers. There's no such thing as a Fort Myers attraction."

Mnookin was asked recently about that comment.

"Well, I probably couldn't defend myself," Mnookin said. "It was a typical journalistic off-hand comment that probably if I had been writing for a wider audience than my blog I would have been more circumspect. I would have made more of an effort to weigh the situation. Be a little bit more fair-minded."

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Authors Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan collaborated on "Faithful, Two Diehard Fans Chronicle the Historical 2004 Season."

They touched on spring training and the book included this observation on local residents: "Many of people with whom I'm sharing the road are old, bewildered, and heavily medicated."

Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote in "Spring Training, Baseball's Early Season," about going to the Red Sox complex at the "far end of Edison Road."

It's actually Edison Avenue.

Anyhow, he went on to write, "Past miles of auto body shops, gun shops, pawn shops and propane tanks, the complex sits at a dead end in the true sense of the word. There is no parking, so Sox watchers board yellow school buses from downtown and are shuttled from downtown to the site getting off the buses beyond the chain-link fences, they look like prison inmates sent to clean a highway on a work-release program."

Red Sox Chief Operating Officer Larry Lucchino discussed spring training several weeks ago on WEEI-AM, a Boston sports radio station. Lucchino didn't criticize Fort Myers but one of the show's hosts couldn't resist offering this when the prospect of moving to Sarasota was mentioned: "that means fewer bail bonds shops, stray pit bulls in the neighborhood."

Glenn Miller - Lee Couny charities rue idea of losing Red Sox; Team fundraisers have raised millions in Lee

The Boston Red Sox mean far more to the Zingale family of Cape Coral than the two World Series the team has won in the past four years.

"It's my daughter's life," said Jim Zingale, referring to 11-year-old Amanda.

Amanda went 13 minutes without oxygen when she was born and spent her first 19 days in the neo-natal unit at the Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. The hospital is the beneficiary of the Boston Red Sox's annual charity golf tournament at The Forest Country Club. The Zingales believe there is a connection between their daughter's life and the Red Sox.

Adam Kilgore - Campaigns in full swing to lure franchise

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Red Sox officials Larry Lucchino and Mike Dee will meet tomorrow with representatives from Sarasota, Fla., to continue negotiations for a deal that could move the team's spring training operations from Fort Myers to Sarasota, according to Sarasota county commissioner Joe Barbetta.

After a tumultuous week in which the city announced negotiations with the Red Sox had ended without a deal and then decided to reopen them, Barbetta believes the Red Sox still have a strong chance of ending up in Sarasota.

"I think if markets stabilize and don't get worse, there's still a 60-70 percent chance that we can still put this deal together," Barbetta said. "The business community is now coming alive, and there is support. I honestly think the Red Sox would like to be here if we can make the deal work."

Sarasota has set an Oct. 29 deadline to make a deal, Barbetta said. Talks between Sarasota's negotiators and the Red Sox fell apart briefly early last week.

Lee officials to discuss financing for new Red Sox stadium today at 2 p.m.

Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah, the TDC chairman, declined to discuss how much money it may cost to build a new stadium or renovate City of Palms Park, the team’s spring home since 1993.

“At this point in time it would be premature to talk about money," Judah said Monday.

Will the Red Sox chip in?

We’re still in the negotiation stage,” Judah said.

Glenn Miller - Bed tax may help Lee County pick up Red Sox

The Lee County Tourist Development Council approved the concept of spending up to one penny of the 5-cent bed tax on a new Boston Red Sox spring training facility.

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners will vote on the concept Tuesday.

The 5 percent county bed tax is charged on short-term rentals of hotel rooms and other accommodations.

John Yarbrough, the county's unpaid consultant in an effort to keep the Red Sox here, said it's possible the team could sign a 30-year deal with Lee County. That deal would have no out clauses and would contain two 10-year options that could push it out to a 50-year deal, he said during a special tourist development session devoted to funding a new Red Sox spring-training stadium.

...

Thirteen people spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Many who had businesses on the islands said the tourist tax money should be used to keep local waters clean and beaches nourished. Others with inland businesses said the Red Sox are important to them.

The tax is expected to raise about $23.5 million next year. A county ordinance dictates bed tax dollars be spent according to these proportions:

• 53.6 percent for bureau operations, advertising and promotion;

• 33 percent for beach and shoreline improvements; and

• 13.4 percent for several other items, but specifically to pay off debt on the Lee County Sports Complex, maintain the complex and City of Palms Park, fund the county Sports Authority operating budget and provide marketing assistance to nonprofit attractions.

Amalie Benjamin - Sarasota to vote Wednesday

The city of Sarasota, Fla., will vote Wednesday on whether to increase its tourist tax from half a penny to a penny.

Approval would boost any funding needed for a new stadium for the Sox, in addition to the work needed on the refurbishment of what would be the team's minor league complex, the former spring home of the Reds.

Although negotiators hired by Sarasota County are dealing directly with the Red Sox in an attempt to lure them from their current spring home in Fort Myers, county commissioner Joe Barbetta expects a response in the next couple of days from the club. The increase in taxes would bring in more than $2 million per year in order to issue bonds between $60 million and $65 million to finance the stadium.

Lee County, which encompasses Fort Myers, seemingly remains a player in the process, having announced it was looking for proposals from the private sector for a new facility for the Sox on at least 80 acres of land, according to the (Fort Myers) News-Press.

Naples Daily News

Charlie Whitehead - Lee County solicits land for future Red Sox spring training site



BONITA SPRINGS — Lee County wants your land.

So does the Boston Red Sox, assuming you have at least 80 acres on which a shiny new spring training stadium can be built.

With a double handful of sketchy proposals already on hand, county officials are asking for more — more details from those who are already interested in donating land and more proposals from others, too.

“We got some interest over the last several months,” said John Yarbrough, the county’s former parks and recreation director who is serving as a consultant for the county and has had frequent conversations with the team. “Who knows if they’re still interested?”

Glenn Miller - Lee County seeking land for Red Sox facility; Official reports about a dozen landowners 'very interested'

Lee County is open for Boston Red Sox stadium business. The county announced Thursday it is seeking proposals from the private sector for a new Red Sox spring training facility.

The county is requesting "a minimum of 80 acres" to be donated or sold. The landowner will be able to build commercial developments around the spring training complex.

So far, according to Deputy County Manager Bill Hammond, 12 or 13 landowners are "very interested."

"Some have even gone out and done some pre-design work," Hammond said.

The Bonita Bay Group is interested. It has 550 acres east of downtown, between the Red Sox practice fields and Ortiz Avenue.

"I think it's the No. 1 location," said Susan Hebel Watts, a Bonita Bay senior vice president. "You have access to the interstate and other roads and we have a lot of property."

Proposals must be received by the county by 11:30 a.m. Nov. 20.