Replica stadiums idea needs real grounding

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published September 26, 2007

Commissioners Michael Cox and Jack Mariano want Pasco County to play ball with the amateur sports industry. It is a logical suggestion following on the heels of the multimillion-dollar investment in a tennis stadium near Saddlebrook Resort, the county's affiliation with the Florida Sports Foundation and the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association's successful bid to lure an international lacrosse tournament to the new county park off Boyette Road early next year.

But the commissioners' enthusiasm for resurrecting the idea of building baseball/softball diamonds that are replicas of historic major-league stadiums must be tempered with a changing playing field among potential competitors for amateur sports dollars.

Notably, the Hillsborough County Commission is poised to give final consideration to a proposed $40-million amateur sports complex on 450 acres in northeast Hillsborough, not far from the Pasco County line. And in the past year, Collier County completed a baseball and soccer complex with an adjoining water park that attracts regional tournaments while Disney announced plans to build a new fieldhouse to double the indoor sports pace at its Wide World of Sports complex outside Orlando. Commissioners need to ensure there is room for Pasco in their big-league dream.

In the past, individual commissioners have talked of attracting youth sports, or investing in an Olympic-sized pool for competitive meets, or partnering with a California company to build the replica stadiums. None have gone beyond the talking stages. Instead of acting on individual whims, the county would be wise to commission a comprehensive study of whether Pasco can grab a significant share of the competitive sports promotions market.

Tuesday, the commission blessed Cox's request to address the Tourist Development Council (of which Mariano is chairman), present information from Big League Dreams of California and its replica stadiums and solicit proposals for a multipurpose sports complex.

His lineup, however, is missing its leadoff hitter. The county should be soliciting a consultant to determine whether it can afford to invest its future tourism tax proceeds in additional amateur sports facilities.

Cox was introduced to the Big League Dreams concept at a recent Florida Association of Counties convention. His predecessor on the commission, Steve Simon, brought the same idea to the board in 2002, but at the time it was an unsuccessful last-ditch attempt to circumvent county approval of the tennis stadium. A more thorough airing would be appropriate.

Big League Dreams partners with local governments to build and operate replica historic baseball stadiums like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. It operates five parks in California and one in Texas. Its current Web site contains much of the same information available to the county in 2002: A single complex in California draws 400,000 visitors annually, with about 35,000 coming from out of town. The estimated economic impact to the community is about $13-million. The 25-acre complex includes three smaller-scale replica parks, a covered multisport pavilion, restaurant, batting cages, four beach volleyball courts and a 3-acre passive park. Construction cost 10 years ago was $6-million.

The company operates and maintains the facility - which means no annual subsidies from the government budget - and shares proceeds with the local municipality.

It's easy to see why Cox and Mariano like the idea of a public-private partnership. But like any successful sports venture, they would be better off obtaining and reading the scouting reports before committing to a final game plan.

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 20:29:12]