Braves stadium to open later than planned

The Atlanta Braves will arrive in Sarasota County for spring training a little later than expected — four months later — but still expect to make an appearance in 2019.

The Braves on Wednesday said in a release they don't expect to play in the stadium now under construction in North Port until April 2019 -- the last game of that year's Grapefruit League season. The original plan was to open the stadium in January 2019, in time for the entire season. 

An extended construction timeline is to blame.

Sarasota County Director of Business and Economic Development Jeff Maultsby said the county won’t feel any economic impact from the delay, and the lost season will be added to the end of the 30-year operating agreement the Braves committed to for the stadium.

“The impact will just be delayed gratification, if you will,” Maultsby said. “We have one opportunity to get this right the first time.”

Maultsby said the delay in opening was a possibility from the beginning of the discussions of opening a stadium in North Port, and the county supports it.

Sarasota County agreed to contribute $21 million to the construction of the stadium. North Port contributed $4.7 million up front, and the state of Florida will contribute $20 million.

The total cost of the stadium is estimated to be about $100 million. Maultsby expects the stadium to have an annual economic impact similar to that of the Orioles stadium in Sarasota — around $80 million.

When completed, the complex will include six practice fields, 55,000 square feet of clubhouse and fitness facilities for the Braves, and multipurpose fields and public space that can be used for special events by the city and county.

Since 1998, the Braves have played spring games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.