After two years of negotiations between Dunedin, Fla., officials and the Blue Jays, it is "finally clear the team plans to stay put" for Spring Training, according to Megan Reeves of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Preliminary plans show Florida Auto Exchange Stadium and the team's training facility "will stay the same, but the city and team will partner with the county and state" to do about $81M in renovations and rebuilds. Dunedin Parks & Rec Dir Vince Gizzi said that Florida Auto Exchange Stadium "will undergo significant renovations to improve fan experience and increase capacity, but the framework of the structure will stay the same." He added that a new clubhouse "will be built and house state-of-the-art equipment, offices for the team's staff and showers and locker rooms for the team's 200-plus major- and minor-league players." He said that the goal is to "bring all non-game-day amenities under one roof," so the ballpark can be "used almost exclusively for games." Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro said that the deal will "accommodate what he thinks is the team's greatest need -- to have a yearlong, state-of-the-art training facility big enough to accommodate both minor leaguers and major leaguers at the same time." Shapiro: "You never make deals and achieve an ideal state. Once we had time to thoroughly assess Dunedin as a partner, the benefits far outweighed (everything else)." Reeves noted the plans "call for Pinellas County to fund more than half the project," or about $46M. The team "would shoulder" about $15.7M, the state about $13.6M and the city the rest (TAMPABAYTIMES.com, 9/23).
