TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ push for an $81-million upgrade to its Florida facilities is underway with two days of meetings and consultations in Dunedin that unveiled plans for the project to the public.
President and CEO Mark Shapiro led the club’s delegation, which made presentations to city council on why they need to renovate Florida Auto Exchange Stadium and the Bobby Mattick Training Center as part of a 25-year lease extension.
A concept for a stadium redesign, produced by architectural firm Populous, featured more seating, wider concourses and several open spaces for fans to congregate, including an outfield bar and a lawn down the third-base line. The Blue Jays didn’t reveal plans for a year-round training facility to replace the Bobby Mattick, instead showing the facilities of other teams to demonstrate how far they’re lagging.
Shapiro, during a conference call with media Tuesday, said Monday night’s presentation “was a first step in asking the city commission to approve our efforts to move forward with funding proposals to both the state and the county.”
The current structure has Pinellas County providing $46 million, the Blue Jays $15.7 million, the state about $13.6 million and the city $5.6 million.
Asked the reaction of residents at the meeting, Shapiro said, “There was no opposition voiced,” but later added, “We’re a long way from expressing that this is a certainty.”
Shapiro, along with Blue Jays executive vice-president business Andrew Miller and vice-president business affairs and legal counsel, Matthew Shuber, have been laying groundwork for the project for months. A key step will be in getting county approval.
“When you’re dealing with politics there’s always something unknown that lies in the landscape,” said Shapiro. “We have done work, that’s fair to say. I think we’ve met with the majority of people who will be engaged and involved in the approval process. I’m not certain but don’t expect anything unforeseen in the state, but the county process has a long way to go, and the city as well.”
The current plan calls for Dunedin to get all the approvals done by next summer with the buildings ready for spring training in 2019, but Shapiro tried to play those down.
“I don’t want to get locked down on timeframes although I think it’s important that all of us continue to work with a sense of urgency and understanding that there’s an opportunity cost to each that passes without us moving into a new facility,” he said. “There’s a competitive and a cultural opportunity to be gained the day we do move in. If we operate with the understanding that the sooner the better, on both our part and our partners and stakeholders, things will continue to move forward methodically.”
