ABC7 Sports: Noah’s Notes

Sox to Sarasota? Losing Steam…

Since we’ve said from the beginning that Sarasota’s dream of landing Red Sox spring training wasn’t much more than a pipe dream, this week’s news doesn’t really surprise us.  But while we knew they lacked the money and support to build a new stadium…we never thought the land would be an issue too.

To make a long-story short, the county wanted to put the Sox on Fruitville Rd., displacing the popular county fair.  However, they can’t find anywhere to put the fair, so that property is off the boards.  There are other places the Sox could play, but it is finally becoming obvious to the people of Sarasota that their county would have to pay way more to land the Sox than Lee Co. would have to pay to keep them.

Here are just a few of the stories spelling out Sarasota’s stadium troubles:
Sarasota needs to find the money
Sarasota money woes spark debate
Sarasota doesn’t need the Sox
Tax dollars don’t belong in stadiums

Also, a great one from a non-Sarasota story:
The great stadium boondoggle

Despite the troubles, you shouldn’t expect Sarasota to give up.  The county is trying to secure exclusive negotiating rights with the Sox through the fall, and even though the Sox rebuffed the thought a few months ago, they may actually do it now.  Why?  To keep both counties at the table longer.  The longer the Sox can stretch out this little poker game, the more they have to win.

The sad thing for residents of Sarasota Co. is that baseball is a great boon to the economy and several teams are shopping around for new homes, including the Orioles, who already have their minor-league home in Sarasota.  But the county is so fixated on the Red Sox, they could lose the opportunity to have anyone play there in 2010, 2011, and maybe longer.