05-28-2008, 01:47 AM
The County has to cut $30 million from the budget, which will certainly equate into planned layoffs of 100 more employees and cuts in services, but Ley wants to spend $70 million to have the Red Sox play 17 games here a year? The voters voted NO already on spending $17 million.
$70M Package for Red Sox?
SARASOTA COUNTY County Administrator Jim Ley has told his budget manager to put together a $70 million funding package for a new stadium for Boston Red Sox spring training.
That’s $30 million more than city and county officials offered the Cincinnati Reds to keep spring training here.
If the $70 million cost stands, it would make the Sarasota spring training complex one of the most expensive built in Florida.
But the cost is not out of line for a brand new complex built to fit more than 10,000 fans, said Kevin Reichard, publisher of Ballpark Digest. And it is on par with a slate of plush new stadiums being built in Arizona, which start at $80 million.
This is the first time county and city officials are working with an estimated cost since the city began talks several months ago with the Red Sox about moving spring training here.
On Friday afternoon, Jeff Seward, the county’s chief financial planning officer, will present a handful of funding scenarios to Ley and City Manager Robert Bartolotta.
All of the options call for hotel tax money to pay for the bulk of stadium construction, with one option calling for a one-cent increase in the tax that would generate up to $34 million over 30 years, as well as $17 million in hotel tax dollars already set aside for spring training.
Even with a hike in the hotel tax, the city and county would need to come up with another $20 million.
City Commissioner Ken Shelin said $70 million sounds steep, but it is a realistic estimate for a brand new stadium and clubhouse large enough to accommodate the Red Sox and practice diamonds. Shelin said the price tag is worth the
investment to land the Red Sox. The team has sold out 76 consecutive spring training games in Fort Myers.
“This is the best opportunity we’ve had in years,” he said.
The $70 million estimate is for a new stadium at the fairgrounds property on Fruitville Road.
But a deal has not been struck between the city and county and the fair association that has control of a large part of the land. Both sides are looking into ways to accommodate both the fair and the new stadium on the same 90 acres.
If Sarasota increases its hotel tax, it would join a handful of nearby counties that charge the maximum rate allowed by the state.
Currently, as part of a “tourist development tax,” or hotel tax, tourists staying at hotels or renting a condo for less than six months pay four cents for every dollar. In addition, guests also pay a seven-percent sales tax.
Pinellas County, Lee County and Charlotte County all charge the maximum of five cents per dollar, said Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention and Tourism Bureau.
Manatee and Sarasota counties currently charge four cents.
Haley said she is waiting for the county to reveal the financing scenarios so tourism officials can gauge whether hoteliers and owners of rental condos would support an increase in the tax.
Support among business leaders has been stronger than the push to keep the Reds in town.
“The initial response is that the Red Sox would bring more of an impact,” Haley said. “So it seems like there would be more consideration for the Red Sox than other baseball teams or a different entertainment venue.”
$70M Package for Red Sox?
SARASOTA COUNTY County Administrator Jim Ley has told his budget manager to put together a $70 million funding package for a new stadium for Boston Red Sox spring training.
That’s $30 million more than city and county officials offered the Cincinnati Reds to keep spring training here.
If the $70 million cost stands, it would make the Sarasota spring training complex one of the most expensive built in Florida.
But the cost is not out of line for a brand new complex built to fit more than 10,000 fans, said Kevin Reichard, publisher of Ballpark Digest. And it is on par with a slate of plush new stadiums being built in Arizona, which start at $80 million.
This is the first time county and city officials are working with an estimated cost since the city began talks several months ago with the Red Sox about moving spring training here.
On Friday afternoon, Jeff Seward, the county’s chief financial planning officer, will present a handful of funding scenarios to Ley and City Manager Robert Bartolotta.
All of the options call for hotel tax money to pay for the bulk of stadium construction, with one option calling for a one-cent increase in the tax that would generate up to $34 million over 30 years, as well as $17 million in hotel tax dollars already set aside for spring training.
Even with a hike in the hotel tax, the city and county would need to come up with another $20 million.
City Commissioner Ken Shelin said $70 million sounds steep, but it is a realistic estimate for a brand new stadium and clubhouse large enough to accommodate the Red Sox and practice diamonds. Shelin said the price tag is worth the
investment to land the Red Sox. The team has sold out 76 consecutive spring training games in Fort Myers.
“This is the best opportunity we’ve had in years,” he said.
The $70 million estimate is for a new stadium at the fairgrounds property on Fruitville Road.
But a deal has not been struck between the city and county and the fair association that has control of a large part of the land. Both sides are looking into ways to accommodate both the fair and the new stadium on the same 90 acres.
If Sarasota increases its hotel tax, it would join a handful of nearby counties that charge the maximum rate allowed by the state.
Currently, as part of a “tourist development tax,” or hotel tax, tourists staying at hotels or renting a condo for less than six months pay four cents for every dollar. In addition, guests also pay a seven-percent sales tax.
Pinellas County, Lee County and Charlotte County all charge the maximum of five cents per dollar, said Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention and Tourism Bureau.
Manatee and Sarasota counties currently charge four cents.
Haley said she is waiting for the county to reveal the financing scenarios so tourism officials can gauge whether hoteliers and owners of rental condos would support an increase in the tax.
Support among business leaders has been stronger than the push to keep the Reds in town.
“The initial response is that the Red Sox would bring more of an impact,” Haley said. “So it seems like there would be more consideration for the Red Sox than other baseball teams or a different entertainment venue.”