Author Topic: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast  (Read 18810 times)

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Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #200: April 23, 2013, 05:54:32 PM »
I'm not sure teams would be comfortable with sharing a complex with a division rival.  The hitters would see the pitchers too much.  I think perhaps a better idea might be to look for something off the coast, towards Lakeland, west of Orlando on the I-4 corridor.  Ideally, share a modernized complex with the Tigers. 

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #201: April 23, 2013, 06:11:39 PM »
Are the Tigers looking to move? I thought that they have one of the best of the old parks and that they're happy with it. Moving in with them would be sweet, Joker Marchant is a great park.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #202: April 23, 2013, 06:33:43 PM »
Quote from: SpringTrainingOnline
There are other communities seeking spring training, Roy, including Port St. Lucie. We hear the chances are nil the Nats end up in Fort Myers.

Very interesting, so Fort Myers is out (Yay).  And Port St. Lucie is in, I haven't heard that rumor in a while.  No mention of whether they would be sharing a park with the Mets.

Quote from: SpringTrainingOnline
Nats don't have an FSL team. The Manatees are under separate ownership and working to move to Orlando...

This is another reason why the Nats have to leave Viera, the Manatees are leaving and the County won't pay the ballpark maintenance fees for just 15 games a year of spring training baseball.

Quote from: SpringTrainingOnline
Disney had a very conditional pursuit of the Indians: they wanted to suck up some state funds for spring training. Once the state informed Disney they weren't eligible for state grants, the pursuit of the Indians immediately ended.

Also very interesting, that seems to deflate my thought that the Nats would move to Disney.

The pressure is really on now, they have been putting off a decision for so long while waiting for the best deal they are now on the clock to announce a move before it's too late and having to return to Viera again in 2015.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #203: April 24, 2013, 12:50:24 AM »
Are the Tigers looking to move? I thought that they have one of the best of the old parks and that they're happy with it. Moving in with them would be sweet, Joker Marchant is a great park.
I don't think they want to move.  I was more saying that that area would be a great area for ST, and if it were capable of taking a second team at the facility or if they were looking for a modernization, then that would be a better idea than moving in with the Barves.

Offline TigerFan

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #204: April 24, 2013, 08:58:21 AM »
I am fairly certain they are not looking to move.  In fact there is discussion of adding an additional $40 million into JM and bringing the seating capacity close to 10,000.  I've been there a couple of times and it is a really nice place. 

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #205: April 24, 2013, 09:25:51 AM »
TF - do you think that a modernization of Joker Marchant could accomodate a second team?  It might make getting the money from the state / county a bit easier.

Offline TigerFan

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #206: April 24, 2013, 09:57:08 AM »
TF - do you think that a modernization of Joker Marchant could accomodate a second team?  It might make getting the money from the state / county a bit easier.

I'm no expert on how many fields and other amenities it would take for an additional team to make that option viable but I remember between 5-8 fields surrounding JM and there was certainly some open fields in the immediate area could be turned into additional training grounds. 

 I'm pretty sure that the current $40 million is currently proposed without any additional taxes on the community.  There is a  'bed tax' on hotels that would be the counties portion and the cities part would come from parking, concessions, etc.  Those improvements are to include grandstands in left and right field, though I really like the grassy hill as it currently is and to also renovate both clubhouses. 


Offline monkeyhit

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #207: April 24, 2013, 11:01:35 AM »
What other teams are in the area that Tigers play in ST? Are they close by?

Offline TigerFan

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #208: April 24, 2013, 11:17:43 AM »
What other teams are in the area that Tigers play in ST? Are they close by?

Yankees (Tampa), Blue Jays (Dunedin) and Phillies (Clearwater) are to the west of them.  The Astros (Kissimmee) and the Braves (Lake Buena Vista) to the East.  Although the Stros and Jays are moving. 

Also within a decent travel are the Nats, O's and Bucs

Offline machpost

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #209: April 24, 2013, 12:05:38 PM »
I wouldn't mind seeing the Nats move over to Lakeland with the Tigers. We hit a game there every spring and it's a beautiful ballpark.

With the Jays vacating their facility in Dunedin, I wonder if there's any chance the Nats could make that place work. It would put them a lot closer to some of the west coast teams. It looks really small and outdated, though.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #210: April 30, 2013, 05:24:37 PM »
Pinellas County is trying to save the Blue Jays, but according to Ballpark Digest, it's too little too late, they're gone.  So the next best option is to bring in another team and the Nats are the remaining team looking to make a move.  Here are the options that Pinellas has to offer 1) refurbish the Jays old ballpark that is a bus ride away from the training site with no room to expand, 2) refurbish the Rays old ballpark that is a bus ride away from the training site with no room to expand, 3) build a brand new facility, which isn't going to happen for a team that draws as poorly as the Nats, and 4) expand Bright House Field so that the Nats can share a ballpark with the Phillies.

So, once again, the Nats are totally freaked.


http://ballparkdigest.com/201304306238/major-league-baseball/news/pinellas-county-we-want-to-keep-blue-jays-for-spring-training

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #211: April 30, 2013, 05:26:37 PM »
Quote
Tommy Adkins · East Carolina University
Why do you even put the idea in my head. Having the Nats share Spring Training park with the Phillies would be a dream on mine. Bright House Network Field is my favorite spring training park, and being able to watch the Nationals play there would make it so much better.

Obviously our countries best and brightest minds have passed on attending ECU.

Offline plinko83

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #212: April 30, 2013, 06:57:27 PM »
I'm not sure teams would be comfortable with sharing a complex with a division rival.  The hitters would see the pitchers too much.  I think perhaps a better idea might be to look for something off the coast, towards Lakeland, west of Orlando on the I-4 corridor.  Ideally, share a modernized complex with the Tigers.

Braves and Expos shared in the 80s and 90s (including 4 years of overlap when they were in the NL east together)

Rockies and D-Backs share a facility now.  Doesn't appear that being in the same division is an issue.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Future Of Baseball On The Space Coast
« Reply #213: April 30, 2013, 07:02:21 PM »
Braves and Expos shared in the 80s and 90s (including 4 years of overlap when they were in the NL east together)

Rockies and D-Backs share a facility now.  Doesn't appear that being in the same division is an issue.
well, it isn't frequent, unless you want to survey all current arrangements (I don't, but that's the way to see if it is unusual). It is not ideal. 

Offline PowerBoater69

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well, it isn't frequent, unless you want to survey all current arrangements (I don't, but that's the way to see if it is unusual). It is not ideal. 

There are 12 teams sharing six ballparks, three are in the same league with one of those in the same division. Not common, but not unprecedented. That being noted, I would have no interest in sharing a facility with New Yorkers our Philadelphians. The Braves or Marlins wouldn't be so bad.

Offline machpost

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So it sounds like it's been confirmed that the Nats are leaving Space Coast Stadium for sure, but if they know where they're headed, they're not saying:

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/sports/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/5/14/washington_nationals.html

Offline monkeyhit

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Dunno, they've been saying this for years.  They are still there and recent developments down the coast might mean they stay in Viera.  They basically don't know what else to do.

Offline machpost

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Apparently they're in talks to have a new spring training complex
built somewhere in Florida, instead of taking over existing facilities: http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201305146281/major-league-baseball/news/national-in-talks-for-new-spring-training-site-will-leave-viera

Offline PowerBoater69

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Apparently they're in talks to have a new spring training complex
built somewhere in Florida, instead of taking over existing facilities: http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201305146281/major-league-baseball/news/national-in-talks-for-new-spring-training-site-will-leave-viera

So a brand new complex means no moving into the Red Sox abandoned site, no sharing with the Mets, Phillies, or Braves, that leaves only one rumored spot left...

2016!!!

Offline PowerBoater69

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It's Kissimmee!!!!!

Quote
Commissioner Frank Attkisson said the decision gives him heartburn. "My perception is we're getting ready to be asked to spend $20-, $30-, $40 million," Attkisson said.

Yo Frank, try $50 mil.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/washington-nationals-spring-training-could-leave-b/nXrSP/

Offline PowerBoater69

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Also in the news out of Florida:

Quote
Remember when you got popped with that red light camera ticket last month and then ranted to anyone who'd listen about how it was all a giant conspiracy? "The yellow is too short!" you shrieked, waving your ticket in the air as everyone laughed. "They did it on purpose!"

Well, you don't look so crazy this morning. A Tampa TV station has found that FDOT subtly reworded state law two years ago to give cities wiggle room to shorten their yellow lights -- all so they could catch more drivers in red light camera traps.

The investigation by WTSP began after they found a dangerously short yellow light near Tampa at an intersection that also happened to house a red light camera.

When they started digging into the state rules behind the cameras -- which generate more than $100 million for Florida cities -- they found something curious.

Until 2011, state law mandated that the length of yellow lights be based on a formula that considers either the road's speed limit or a percentage of the average car speed -- whichever is greater.

But that year, FDOT quietly removed the last part -- whichever is greater. The result was that cities could base their yellow times on arbitrary speed limits, which often have little to do with how fast cars are actually driving in an area.

FDOT says the move was meant to "clean up" its regulatory language, but the change goes directly against federal safety suggestions, which note that basing yellow times on speed limits results "in more red light violations and higher crash rates."

It's that first part of the warning that probably interests local cities. Sure, skimping on yellow light times might results in a few more cars slamming into each other every year -- but think of the extra red-light camera revenue!

"I think it's immoral to do that," James Walker, director of the National Motorists Association tells WTSP. "You're basically punishing safe drivers with deliberately improper engineering. That's not moral to me."

Offline Galah

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...ah well, enjoy the access you have to players in Vierra while you can next two Springs, no doubt that will all go away in the new facility.

Offline PowerBoater69

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...ah well, enjoy the access you have to players in Vierra while you can next two Springs, no doubt that will all go away in the new facility.

Possibly, but much less likely based on this announcement.  If the Nats were going to share a facility with the Phillies, Mets, or Braves, they'd be practicing a ways away from the ballpark, same issue if they moved into the Red Sox old park.  But because they are getting their own new ballpark and new training facilities, they will most likely build them all on the same site, allowing the same access for the fans.

Of course Osceola County has a $40+ million contract to sign first.

Offline monkeyhit

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There goes the pleasure of having the beaches along with baseball!

Kissimmee, kiss off!

Offline hammondsnats

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let's just move to Dodgertown and call it Natstown.