Scott touts plan to keep spring training teams in Florida

Published: Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 9:19 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 9:19 p.m.

SARASOTA - Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the state needs to build a strategy to make sure no more Major League Baseball spring training teams leave for Arizona.

Scott made his comments Thursday night after attending a private reception at the Ed Smith Stadium Complex, where the Baltimore Orioles are scheduled to begin their spring training schedule on Saturday.

Florida has 15 spring training teams.

?We need to keep them in Florida,? Scott, a Republican, said.

Sarasota is no stranger to losing Grapefruit League teams to Arizona. The Cincinnati Reds left Ed Smith Stadium in 2010 for a better stadium in Arizona, and that was a decade after the Chicago White Sox left for Arizona.

The Orioles are in no danger of leaving anytime soon. The club signed a 30-year lease in Sarasota in 2009 in exchange for Sarasota's help in renovating Ed Smith Stadium.

Florida's biggest concern now is losing the Houston Astros, which train in Kissimmee. The team's lease expires in 2016, and there has been talk of Arizona cities trying to lure the team out west.

Arizona's 15 Cactus League teams are huddled around Phoenix, making for shorter travel for spring games.

Teams on Florida's east and west coasts can spend four hours on the road to play against teams on the opposite coast.

Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130221/article/130229905

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