Lee County still wants to see the Washington Nationals as a tenant at City of Palms Park, but with little money for upgrades, county and Fort Myers officials are embarking on a new strategy: convince the Nats front office they are loved. It’s a common strategy: when you don’t have the money to address a […]
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Lee County commissioner: “50-50” chance Nats will move spring ops to Fort Myers
A Lee County commissioner pegged the odds at “50-50” about the chances of the Washington Nationals moving spring-training operations to Fort Myers after the two sides met today. Lee County (Fl.) Commissioner Frank Mann, who did not attend a meeting between Lee County officials and two Nats reps but did discuss it with them afterwards, […]
Lee County, Nats to meet about spring training
Reps from the Washington Nationals and Lee County will meet today to discuss the team shifting spring-training operations to Fort Myers’ City of Palms Park. We don’t expect anything big to come from the discussions; the two are just a third into a 90-day exclusive negotiating period. Both sides have made their goals public: the […]
Lee County to seek state ballpark-improvement grant
Already aiming to fund improvements at Hammond Stadium, the spring home of the Minnesota Twins, Lee County is seeking state assistance as it also works to free up money for the Washington Nationals. in discussions of the future of spring training in Fort Myers, Lee County commissioners have steadfastly held that any additional tourism-tax revenues not […]
Lerner: Fort Myers is tops on our spring-training wish list
It’s inevitable that the Washington Nationals will be leaving Viera’s Space Coast Stadium for spring training, and tops on the team’s wish list for a new home is Fort Myers’ City of Palms Park. Not surprising the Lerners want to leave Viera: at a time when teams are clustering spring-training operations both in Florida and Arizona, the […]
Nats: We want unified spring facility in Fort Myers
The Washington Nationals have a vision of a Fort Myers training base with unified facilities — but it’s questionable whether Lee County has the money to pull off the plan. One of the big reasons why the Boston Red Sox left City of Palms Park in central Fort Myers: the team’s training facility was a […]
JetBlue Park at Fenway South / Boston Red Sox
The ballpark has been open for less than a week, but JetBlue Park, the new spring home of the Boston Red Sox, is drawing praise for easy accessibility and a Florida-themed design. FAST FACTS Year Opened: 2012Capacity: 11,000Budget: $77.8 million (includes $20 million for land and $7.2 million for design)Architect: PopulousConstruction: Manhattan Kraft ConstructionConcessions: AramarkDimensions: […]
Gammons: Nats present spring-training wish list to Lee County
The Washington Nationals reportedly have given Lee County officials a wish list for a renovation of City of Palms Park and could move spring operations there in 2014, according to Peter Gammons. Here’s Gammons’ tweet: “Nats gave Lee County their plans to reconstruct Boston’s former downtown Fort Myers park, likely there in 2014 if county […]
Lee County pitches Nats on spring-training move
Lee County officials are once again pitching Washington Nationals brass on a move to the vacant City of Palms Park, but there are no plans yet for the team to shift from Viera’s Space Coast Stadium. The information comes from Lee County Commissioners pursuing another MLB team for spring training. How much serious interest there […]
Will spring training return to City of Palms Park any time soon? Not likely
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 […]
Lee County to move forward with City of Palms Park aquatic conversion
Lee County will move to the next stage of negotiations with the National Swimming Corp. to covert City of Palms Park, the former spring-training home of the Boston Red Sox, to a natatorium after county commissioners realized pro baseball was not in the facility’s future. The proposal has the company paying $18.2 million to convert […]
Future of City of Palms Park still under debate
Though many in Fort Myers would like to see another MLB team train at City of Palms Park, that’s not happening any time soon, and Lee County is struggling to find a future use for the ballpark — with an outdoor pool again at the top of the list. It’s no secret Fort Myers and […]
Crunching the 2011 Florida spring-training numbers
Attendance at Grapefruit League games at Florida spring-training facilities was slightly higher in 2011 than in 2010, but overall attendance been a little down since record numbers were set in the middle of this decade. A total of 1,571,196 fans attended Florida spring-training games this past spring. That’s higher than last year’s tally of 1,427,627 […]