Lee County Commissioners selected a site close to Southwest Florida International Airport as the future home of a Boston Red Sox spring-training camp.
Lee County Commissioners today selected a site close to Southwest Florida International Airport as the future home of a Boston Red Sox spring-training camp.
It was a site that was almost eliminated from consideration in the early going, both for its location — the site is just barely within the target area for the camp — and for the fact the owners are not willing to donate land to the county, an important early criteria for Lee County officials. That criteria has obviously fallen by the wayside, and the county will pay $22 million for the 203 acres of land. A big reason for choosing the land: it doesn’t require additional permitting, allowing construction to begin immediately after the land is acquired and funding arranged by the county. The Red Sox and the county want the new facility open in spring 2011.
The parcel is located off Daniels Parkway, the main road east out of Fort Myers leading to Southwest Florida International Airport.
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