Palm Beach MLB stadium to get big makeover
Marlins, Cardinals’ spring training home could be getting a $100 million overhaul
Spring training baseball has been a very good deal for Palm Beach County over the years, but not so good that commissioners will rubber-stamp a $111 million makeover for Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The problem: When the money is allocated to fix up the joint spring home of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, there won’t be much cash left to develop other county tourist attractions. Among other things, the county is looking to expand its convention center and parking garage.
So the commissioners Tuesday sent a proposal from the county’s Tourist Development Commission back to the drawing board for another round of negotiating with the two Major League Baseball teams, which conduct their spring training operations at the stadium through a partnership called Jupiter Stadium Ltd.
Built more than 20 years ago, Roger Dean seats 7,000 people and is owned by the county.
“I don’t want to be viewed as the Grinch who stole baseball,” said Vice Mayor Robert Weinroth. But he worried there might not be any funding available should constituents seek to build a cultural venue in the southern part of the county, which he represents.
Commissioner Melissa McKinlay sounded a similar theme on behalf of her constituents, who live in the county’s prominent equestrian area. To the north, she said, Marion County is aggressively seeking to establish its own reputation as an equestrian center. She expressed reservations about having little or no money available to counter another county’s initiative. “I’m really nervous about spending every last penny we have for the next dozen years on beaches and baseball,” she said.
The commissioners voted 6-1 to ask county administrator Verdenia Baker to reopen talks with the ball teams, whose representatives left the meeting without comment. The commissioners, who declined to publicly declare what changes they wanted to see in the agreement, asked her to return with revisions on Dec. 17 after consulting with staff members.
Earlier, a Cardinals spokesman told the commissioners his team looked forward to staying at Roger Dean “for many years to come,” as the Jupiter stadium had grown in popularity and visibility among the team’s fans.
The stadium plan calls for a $111 million bond issue that would be backed by county bed taxes, state funding and contributions from the Marlins and Cardinals. The goal is to improve security, redesign and expand the press box, upgrade the concession stands and relocate the pitchers’ bullpens.
The proposal envisions a new agreement with the ball clubs that would allow them to play there until April 2048.
Palm Beach County is actually the spring home to four major league teams. The 2019 World Champion Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros, the team they defeated for the World Series crown, share FitTeam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
An economic impact study of spring training presented to the commission Tuesday by the TDC reported that 270,857 fans watched the four teams play spring ball this year.
The research group of Downs & St. Germain found the two stadiums generated $70.1 million in spending by the public.
“Palm Beach County is the only county to accommodate four MLB teams, two of which competed against each other in the 2019 World Series,” the report said.
“This World Series performance is expected to drive a higher number of visitors to our ballparks in 2020 as the FitTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is host to both the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals,” the report said. “In addition to MLB, some of the largest amateur baseball tournaments are taking place at FitTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium creating yearround activity.”