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Fort Myers officials wooing Nationals for spring training

Fort Myers city officials have pitched the Washington Nationals on a move to City of Palms Park in spring 2012 — but we're not sure the Nats are ready to walk away from a Space Coast Stadium lease.

Fort Myers city officials have pitched the Washington Nationals on a move to City of Palms Park in spring 2012 — but we're not sure the Nats are ready to walk away from a Space Coast Stadium lease that runs through 2017.

Fort Myers officials have been pitching the glories of City of Palms Park for months now to anyone who will listen: the Orioles, the Brewers and now the Nats. But the setup at City of Palms is quite dreary: the ballpark itself is nice, but it is in a marginal neighborhood and the training facilities, some two miles to the east, are in an even more marginal neighborhood. In terms of quality, City of Palms is a distinct step down from Space Coast Stadium and the adjoining Barger complex.

Plus, the Nats have a lease that runs through 2017, signed in 2007 when millions in local tourism funds were diverted to a minor renovation of Space Coast Stadium. It seems unlikely the Lerners would break that lease to move to a situation where they're number four in a four-team market in the Fort Myers area.

(UPDATE: Apparently Fort Myers officials have wooed every visiting team playing at City of Palms Park this season. Literally. This is such a nothingball story as of now.)

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