Florida Gov. Rick Scott yesterday "signed a ceremonial version of a land-use law that freed up the final 27 acres at the south end of the 160-acre site" designated for a $135M Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach for the Nationals and Astros, according to Joe Capozzi of the PALM BEACH POST. Scott "signed the actual bill into law on June 10 in Tallahassee." He did it again yesterday "because it marked his first visit with local elected officials in West Palm Beach since the state legislature approved the land-use change." He also noted that the state has "agreed to chip in" $50M to "help finance the local baseball project as part of economics incentives package approved" in '13 by the state legislature. Palm Beach County has pledged "hotel-tax revenue while the teams will pay for the remaining costs and any construction cost overruns." The county hopes the new West Palm Beach stadium will convince the Marlins and Cardinals to "extend their leases at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter." Those leases are set to expire in '27, but the county "hopes they will stay at least until" '47, when the Astros’ and Nationals' leases in West Palm Beach expire. The stadium’s "tentative name until the naming rights are sold" is Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The Palm Beach County Commission is "expected to sign final documents on the project, including a land swap with the city of West Palm Beach, on Aug. 18" (PALM BEACH POST, 7/7). In DC, Chelsea Janes noted there will now be "five teams within a 30-minute drive of one another on the East coast of Florida, a good sign for the health of the Grapefruit League, which requires more travel than the Cactus League in Arizona." From Space Coast Stadium in Viera, where the Nationals train now, their "nearest opponent is about 45 minutes away" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/6).
