A Lee County Commissioner charged with exploring options for City of Palms Park, the former spring home of the Boston Red Sox, says there might be interest out there from MLB teams, but any move would be an extreme long-shot.
Commissioner John Manning says he’s heard second-hand that two teams — one currently training in Arizona, one currently training in Florida — might be searching for a new spring-training home, adding that he’s not had any direct discussions with any potential tenants, according to the News-Press. There are many challenges to a new team setting up shop in Fort Myers: the distance between the actual training facility (a landlocked complex with limited parking and accessibility) and the ballpark, the presence of three teams (Boston, Minnesota and Tampa Bay) already training in the greater Fort Myers/Port Charlotte area, and the lack of expandability for the ballpark itself. There are many reasons why the Red Sox sought a new training facility, and they’re still present. There’s also a proposal to convert the ballpark to a swimming facility, something that’s been treated with skepticism by many commissioners, who would prefer to work on a return of baseball.
More on spring training from our sister site, Spring Training Online.
RELATED STORIES: Lee County to move forward with City of Palms aquatic conversion; Future of City of Palms Park still under debate; Lee County passes on City of Palm Park as a swim facility; Ballpark Visit: City of Palms Park
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