Letters to the Editors

Let's set stadium record straight

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001

Re: the proposed Phillies spring training facility in Clearwater.

There has been an awful collection of misinformation in recent letters to the editor, mostly from neighbors near the proposed site.

TRAFFIC: Obviously, game day traffic is a concern, but after all, we're only talking 14 games played at 1 p.m. and one evening game at 7 each spring. Summer minor league games do not draw large enough crowds to create traffic problems. Fifteen heavy traffic days is the scope of the concern, and that just doesn't warrant all the fuss.

STADIUM LIGHTS: There will be fewer lights when the ballpark is built than currently exist on the site. There are currently 29 light poles, each 40 feet high. Most of them are much closer to the homes than the lights will be at the new facility.

LOCATION: The stadium will be placed in the southeasternmost corner of the site at the corner of Drew Street and Old Coachman Road. This is about 1,400 feet (or one-quarter mile) from the nearest home, and half a mile from the majority of the homes in the neighboring subdivisions.

COST: The agreement with the Phillies stipulates that the Phillies will pay for all cost overruns. The city is chipping in about one-fifth of the total cost. The state, county and Phillies will pay the balance. Yes, the state and county monies are tax dollars, but the county portion is tourist bed taxes that are collected anyway (and would otherwise be spent on tourist promotion). The state money would be spent on some legislator's pet project (probably in Broward County), if it weren't spent here. It should be noted that the Phillies are the first baseball team to step up with a major contribution ($3-million) toward the cost of a spring training facility, and the Phillies are also paying rent to the city and sharing some revenues from this facility with the city.

PILE DRIVING AND VIBRATION: The Phillies have agreed that any foundation pilings will be auger-bored pilings, which do not produce vibrations.

SINKHOLES: It is a terrible tragedy that sinkholes have appeared in neighboring areas. The geological experts have clearly stated that there is no cause-effect relationship between the construction of a piling-supported stadium and the potential of future sinkholes in the neighborhood 1,400 feet or more away. Sinkholes on the stadium site are possible, but the stadium would be immune from any damage, as it would be supported by concrete pilings that bear on the hardpan limerock below the strata where sinkholes occur.

RUSH TO ACTION: This project has been a model for public discourse and disclosure. The first neighborhood meeting with city and county officials was in March 2000. Since then, there have been three additional meetings with concerned neighbors. Also, the project has been an agenda item at six City Commission meetings and three County Commission meetings, all with the opportunity for public input. Unanimous votes for approval were obtained at all public hearings.

In summation, we think this is the right thing for the city to do. It is the right time, the terms are superb and it is in the best place. The Phillies are truly part of Clearwater's heritage, and 20 more years would be an appropriate continuation of this successful relationship. We know in our hearts it's a good thing to do.
-- Alan C. Bomstein, Dunedin; Ken Hamilton, Clearwater; Ed Droste, Clearwater; Daryl Seaton, Belleair; Josh Magidson, Clearwater; Joe Burdette, Clearwater

Site is bad choice for Phillies training complex

Re: Neighbors rally to halt stadium plan, Feb. 19 story.

I live in College Hill Park, north of Coachman Ridge and Coachman Lake Estates. I will be mildly inconvenienced by the proposed stadium site with the probable widening of Old Coachman Road (traffic) and the seemingly unusual acoustics of my uphill locale (noise).

The graphic art provided by the Times omitted what I believe is one of the most revealing sinking structures on the property -- the youth soccer concession stand. This portable, lightweight structure sits on concrete blocks. A corner of it has sunk. It rests in the middle of the proposed spring training complex.

In addition, the parking lot remains a rutty mess because it cannot maintain a smooth paved surface. Every paving attempt was for naught as the surface inevitably cracked. The shifting parking lot surface existed long before the water retention area was established.

Think about the thunderous booms from the inevitable fireworks displays at Phillies games and the dozen or more proposed concerts each year.

That my city leaders are still considering this site as viable saddens me. The potential for more structural damage to the homes in the area is real. Why risk it?

I will be mildly inconvenienced should the Phillies complex be built where proposed. The families who live nearby will be devastated.
-- Cindy Ehrenzeller, Clearwater

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