Atlanta Braves’ spring training facility seeks $40 million-plus in public money

ATLANTA (TNS) — A new spring-training facility for the Atlanta Braves in Sarasota County, Fla., would require more than $40 million in taxpayer funds, county commissioners there were told Tuesday.

The proposed project, with a cost of $75 million to $80 million, would be funded in part with $22.1 million from Sarasota County hotel taxes, $20 million from the state of Florida and an unspecified amount from the city of North Port, where the facility would be located.

The rest of the project apparently would be funded by the Braves and the developers of the West Villages master-planned community in North Port, although breakdowns of those contributions were not spelled out in the first public presentation of the proposed deal.

If completed, the deal would continue a long trend of the Braves securing taxpayer dollars for construction of facilities, including the new SunTrust Park in Cobb County and minor-league stadiums in Gwinnett County, Pearl, Miss., and Rome, Ga.

After a two-year search across Florida for a new spring-training home, the Braves last week entered into exclusive negotiations with Sarasota County. The team hopes to move its spring camp from Disney World to the southwest Florida city of North Port in 2019.

A deal hasn’t been completed, and Sarasota County officials haven’t voted on financial terms. The state money, which would come from a fund designed to keep teams in Florida for spring training, also hasn’t been approved.

While no vote was taken at Tuesday’s meeting, which was streamed on the county’s website, the project received generally favorable comments from commissioners.

“I’m very excited,” commissioner Charles Hines said. “As someone who is a lifelong resident of south Sarasota County, this to me is the biggest announcement we’ve had in my lifetime.”

The Braves are pushing hard to complete a deal, as reflected by eight team executives attending the meeting in Sarasota: chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk, vice chairman John Schuerholz, president of baseball operations John Hart, general manager John Coppolella, chief financial officer Chip Moore, chief legal officer Greg Heller, senior director of public relations Beth Marshall and assistant director of player development Jonathan Schuerholz.

“We’re hopeful that we come to a conclusion that benefits both parties, that is … a win-win for both parties,” Schuerholz told the commissioners. “We believe it can be.”

Schuerholz said the Braves are confident of reaching an ageement “that we can announce soon.”

“We want to be in this facility by 2019,” he said. “Time is not our friend.”

Plans outlined Tuesday call for a stadium with 6,500 fixed seats, luxury suites, a 360-degree concourse, six full practice fields and two half practice fields.

The Braves would sign a 30-year lease and operate a year-round player development and rehabilitation facility at the complex. The team and the county would make unspecified annual contributions for capital expenditures.

West Villages’ developers would donate the land and infrastructure, which are not included in the $75 million to $80 million cost, and make “financial commitments to help secure the agreement.”

State funding also is critical to a deal, but there have been reports the Florida legislature may cut back on such enhancements. Sarasota County commissioner Nancy Detert pressed Schuerholz on the availability of state funds.

“We believe we will be entitled to that money when we request it and that we will receive it,” Schuerholz replied. “That is our firm belief.”

The next step is to complete negotiations on a letter of intent.

The Braves, who have been in talks with Sarasota County since early last year, also pursued negotiations with a number of other Florida locations, including Palm Beach County, Collier County/Naples and Pinellas County/St. Petersburg.

The Braves have trained at Disney’s Wide World of Sports near Orlando since 1998 and will remain there through 2018. They are seeking a new spring home primarily to get closer to other teams and reduce travel time to exhibition games.