The Braves "formally plan to move" their Spring Training home to Sarasota County in '19, according to a front-page piece by Zach Murdock of the Sarasota HERALD-TRIBUNE. Revised plans for the project show a $75-80M complex on about 70 acres in the West Villages district of the city of North Port, "including a 6,500-seat stadium, team clubhouse, training facilities, a half-dozen practice baseball fields, six multi-use fields and space for the team's sports medicine academy." The announcement "squelches lingering speculation that the Braves might still be considering other Florida sites." The Braves have been "searching for a new home for spring training for almost two years as the team nears the end of its lease at Disney's Wide World of Sports." Sarasota County leaders have said that they "plan to propose" roughly $22M in tourism development tax dollars, "just under the cap that would require the contribution to be approved by a voter referendum." West Villages GM Marty Black said that he and Braves execs "plan to ask North Port leaders" for $4-5M toward the plan, which "could cost about $300,000 per year over the life of an agreement." The remainder "would be paid for by the team's lease" and a $20M state grant offered for communities building Spring Training facilities. However, state lawmakers are "expected to at least consider a plan that could gut those incentives during the legislative session this spring, so officials aim to submit their application as soon as possible" (Sarasota HERALD-TRIBUNE, 1/18). In Tampa, Ashley Gurbal Kritzer noted Sarasota County "projects negotiations will take 'the next several months' and will give an update on negotiations" at next Tuesday's commissioners meeting (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/17).
