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Terms to be Reviewed for Braves Spring Training Proposal

New Braves Training Camp

Proposed terms for an Atlanta Braves spring training complex will be considered by Sarasota County this week.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sarasota County officials will review details that are outlined in a term sheet for a new spring training complex in North Port. As part of the framework that has been proposed, the team would pay in the range of $2 million to $2.5 million annually in a 30-year lease for the complex. The Braves would also partner with the county on capital maintenance, as both parties would contribute $5.625 million over 30 years. In addition, the Braves would pay $7.5 million in upfront costs.

Over time, numerous details will have to be resolved for the $75.4 million proposal to be finalized. The county is expected to make a financial contribution, along with West Villages developers and the City of North Port, while a potential state grant could be made available for the project.

Several steps will have to be completed once the term sheet is agreed to by the parties involved in the project, but the current plan provides a glimpse into how the facility’s funding model could take shape. More from The Herald-Tribune:

An agreement is necessary for the West Villages Improvement District, a formal legislative taxing district, to apply for up to $20 million in state spring training grants to help pay for the planned stadium and associated training facilities.

The agreement is proposed to include the Braves’ contributions and about $22 million from the county’s tourist development tax, which the commission will consider adjusting to help pay for the new stadium and its commitments to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota without increasing the tax.

The West Villages also will donate the about 70 acres for the complex, valued at about $8 million, and will fund road and utilities infrastructure for the site, expected to cost about $7 million, according to the summary of the terms.

The West Villages Improvement District and North Port each will be expected to also contribute another $300,000 per year.

The team’s planned year-round sports medicine, fitness and physical therapy academy for its Major League Baseball players and future prospects is expected to be another $10 million part of the deal that will be privately funded. The summary did not provide further details about the academy.

It is going to take time for the final plan to come together, but the term sheet at least outlines how the parties involved could proceed. The facility would open for the spring of 2019.

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