Braves exclusively negotiating with Sarasota County for spring training home

The Atlanta Braves have announced that they are exclusively negotiating with Sarasota County to be the team’s new spring training home. The new facilities would be in North Port, specifically within the coming West Villages development.

Jeff Maultsby, the director of business and economic development for Sarasota County, called today a landmark day, but stressed that the deal is not yet finalized.

Things still to be done include completing and filing an application with the state of Florida and signing interlocal agreements and striking a facilities use agreement with the Braves. Funding issues still need to be discussed, though not on the county’s side of things. Maultsby said the county’s portion of the money will come from tourist development tax up to the county’s charter cap limit, which is expected to be approximately $21 million.

If the deal is completed as expected, the plan is for the Braves to move to Sarasota County for the 2019 season.

Maultsby said the county is ecstatic to be adding another MLB spring training site.

“There are only 30 of these franchises in existence, and a limited number of them in the state of Florida,” Maultsby said. “For us to now have two of them in our community will benefit us exponentially, especially in the area of the county that we are targeting for this franchise to land. We think the impact will be great for us.

“There has long been a desire to have something to drive the economy down there (in North Port), and we see this as a catalyst to do just that.”

Via a press release, West Villages General Manager Marty Black said the stadium complex blends well into the development’s master plan for the area, and that it will become “an anchor for our future entertainment district and complement our planned new downtown Main Street development.”

North Port City Manager Jonathan Lewis said in a press release that the city will play a large role in finalizing the terms of the deal and oversee any necessary regulatory approvals.

Maultsby said the next update on the agreement will come at a Jan. 24 Sarasota County Commission meeting. Maultsby expects high-level club executives to be in attendance.