The Twins want “player dormitories and the rights to rename Hammond Stadium" as part of a deal in which Lee County, Fla., could "shell out more than" $45M for upgrades to the team's Spring Training home, according to documents cited by Thomas Himes of the Ft. Myers NEWS-PRESS. While the county reached “a tentative lease agreement with the team last month, the contract failed to specify the county’s financial obligations and other incentives.” Lee County Sports Authority Dir Jeff Mielke said that whether the county “will build facilities to house the team’s Gulf Coast League players remains a point of contention.” The team “currently puts the players up in a local hotel from mid-March through late August.” While the team “might not receive housing facilities,” Mielke said that the “county will ‘unfortunately’ have to let the team rename Hammond Stadium and keep the profits.” Under a similar agreement, the county allowed the Red Sox “to sell the naming rights to JetBlue Park.” Mielke said, “Because the Red Sox have the deal with their naming rights, it’s pretty hard to tell the Twins, ‘You can’t do it that way’” (Ft. Myers NEWS-PRESS, 7/12).
