Bookmark and Share Contact us by phone: 561 450-8258. Contact us by email.

 

Red Sox, Yankees considering Delray for fantasy camp

By David Sedore, Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — The Boston Red Sox could be coming to Little Fenway Park, and so could the New York Yankees. But there is a catch. A $500,000 catch.

Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie said Tuesday during the city commission’s workshop meeting Tuesday evening that the two Major League Baseball teams are considering moving their fantasy camp operations to the city’s Little Fenway baseball field in Miller Park off Dixie Highway.

The catch? The only way the city can secure a deal with either team is if it constructs a building to house restrooms, concession stands and a press box/scorekeeper’s room. Delray has $500,000 set aside in the budget for the project, but with the economy the way it is and tax revenue down, commissioners are reluctant to spend that much money. Part of the reluctance is the lack of revenue the field generates; contracts with either the Red Sox or the Yankees would change that but there is no guarantee that either will come even with the building.

“We’re not anywhere near where anyone has any contracts drawn up,” McDuffie said. “We can’t negotiate without a building there.”

Little Fenway did have a building on the site but it was such bad shape that the city demolished it several years ago with intentions of replacing it. City Commissioner Tom Carney quipped the old restroom was so bad that he had respiratory failure the last time he used it.

But that was at a time when Delray Beach was reasonably flush, so to speak.

The Bucky Dent Baseball School, which uses the field, originally intended to pick up a chunk of the cost of the building, but recently pulled out of the deal. It has proposed instead to make a small donation to the city in return for the right to have its name on whatever the city builds.

Jose Aguila of Currie Sowards Aguila Architects presented commissioners with several options for the building. As proposed, the concession stand and restrooms would be on the ground floor, with the press box/scorekeeper’s room on the second.

The design originally incorporated an elevator for access to the second floor to comply with various building codes. An alternative would installing lift instead, which would still meet code while significantly reducing the cost of the project, Aguila told commissioners.

“I’m more certain than ever that you can do this for under $500,000,” Aguila said.

But the cost of the project still was a matter of concern for commissioners. Adam Frankel noted the city has some unexpected expenses and suggested the city wait until it has a mid-year report on revenue before making a decision on the project.

“There are other places in the city that a lot more people use that aren’t receiving any funding,” Carney said. “Other Miller fields have a much broader base of participation than Little Fenway.

“Is this money well spent at this time? I really need to be convinced of the wisdom of spending a half-million dollars at this time.”

Deals with either or both the Red Sox and Yankees for their fantasy camps would make the project practicable and would give the city’s economy a boost as well. “It’s a heads and beds thing,” McDuffie said.

But it’s also not a given.

In other business, McDuffie praised both the Downtown Marketing Cooperative and the Downtown Development Authority for their work in keeping the city’s main business district lively. The DMC’s Sarah Martin presented commissioners with the cooperative’s latest marketing plan during the meeting.

McDuffie said he recently walked the length of Clematis Avenue in West Palm Beach — that city’s equivalent to Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.

“You’d be very proud — of Delray,” McDuffie said.  West Palm “is a big city, with a big budget, but our downtown works so much better, our events work so much better. You only have to look around to other cities trying to get things together.”

There has been some friction between the DMC and the DDA, with the two entities squabbling a bit over turf.  The DMC takes a geographically broader approach to marketing the city, while the DDA is a taxing district and focuses its efforts within the limited boundaries of the district. The DDA is considering pulling out of the DMC.

Said McDuffie, “You have some issues to work out, but I think everything is on the right track.”

coming soon the daily bulletin

Keep up with YOUR community. Receive our FREE email newsletters!
For Email Marketing you can trust

Follow us on TwitterPalm Beach Business.com on LinkedIn
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

your ad here

Openings at $75K to $500K+

mac corner...essential reading for apple computer users
CompUSA
DELRAY'S ONLINE BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER — PALM BEACH BUSINESS.COM
   
palm beach business.com
MAY 11, 2011 click to go home
 
         
click to go back to the top
Delray's Online Business and Community Newspaper