The Boston Red Sox and Sarasota officials are once again discussing the parameters of a new spring-training facility in downtown’s Payne Park. As we reported last week, the two sides parted ways after Sarasota officials demanded an upfront payment of $10 million from the Red Sox, but we predicted the two sides would be talking again after Sarasota officials came to their senses and realized Boston was never going to pay $10 million up front.Well, that little spat didn’t take long to dissipate, as the Boston Red Sox and Sarasota officials are once again discussing the parameters of a new spring-training facility in downtown’s Payne Park. As we reported last week, the two sides parted ways after Sarasota officials demanded an upfront payment of $10 million from the Red Sox, but we predicted the two sides would be talking again after Sarasota officials came to their senses and realized Boston was never going to pay $10 million up front.
And sure enough, Sarasota officials came to their senses and are now looking at alternative methods of raising that $10 million, including raising the county’s hotel tax from four cents to five cents (the legal limit). To that end, Red Sox director of Florida operations Mike Dee and team president Larry Lucchino are meeting today with Sarasota officials. Of course, the Red Sox may have been a little more eager to come back to the negotiating table after finding out the Baltimore Orioles had chatted with Sarasota officials last week about moving their spring operations to a renovated Ed Smith Stadium.
Dee and Lucchino may be a little more eager to hear what Sarasota has to say after seeing that Lee County and Fort Myers officials really don’t have a plan to keep the team in City of Palms Park. There’s been a lot of buzz in southwestern Florida about a mystery plan for a new complex, but so far all that’s popped up has been a conceptual plan to create a new training complex next to City of Palms Park, displacing 21 area home owners. We’re not entirely sure there’s the political will or money to actually place a camp next to the ballpark, and we’re not sure City of Palms Park would come close to generating the revenues the Red Sox could see in Sarasota.