SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL UPDATE

SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL UPDATE

One week left to go and we do have an update worthy of reporting on. It sure sounds like serious discussions are taking place between the Washington Nationals, The Houston Astros and Palm Beach County and they have narrowed their focus down to 2 sites. One is no surprise, the site at 45th St. in West Palm Beach, which as of our last update seemed like the front running site by a large margin. The other is a big surprise, John Prince Park in Lake Worth, since it was reported previously that it was no longer being considered. It seems like a revised site plan, courtesy of PGAL (an architect who has designed other sports stadiums around the country), was responsible for the renewed interest in the John Prince site. It is pretty crazy but it really looks like AT & T Park in San Francisco, complete with the stadium facing Lake Osborne and kayakers catching home runs. Other amenities discussed are a walking trail along the outfield and the fact that it is within walking distance of the Tri-Rail, which would make it the only sports stadium in the state to be easily accessible by mass transit. While that is something commonplace in other cities around the country, it just doesn’t happen in Florida for some reason. In order for this plan to work Palm Beach State College would need to agree relocate its baseball field, since that is where they have proposed 2 practice fields and a parking lot. This, along with residents objections are what lead the site to drop from consideration in the past. But the Nationals have always liked the site, and it seems like Lake Worth is finally grasping that this might be the best and only economic development driver that they may ever see. I think this quote sums it up perfectly, from Lake Worth Commissioner Scott Maxwell, “This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for this area. For us not to explore the possibilities is irresponsible.” The problem is that the West Palm site is in an equally economic barren area and would also hugely benefit from getting the stadium deal. If history is any guide there is no question that the deal will go to Lake Worth while West Palm will continue to struggle. But there are only days left for a deal to be made, and I am hopeful that one can be made somewhere. We will see soon enough. As always, thanks for reading and have a great day.