The Orlando Dreamers claim that despite the possibility that their most direct route to bringing Major League Baseball to Orange County may be evaporating, they are continuing their efforts.
The Tampa Bay Rays were targeted by wealthy investors who wanted an Orlando club, but the organization revealed on Wednesday that it was starting exclusive talks with Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski. Sportico said last week that the two parties agreed on a letter of intent at a cost of about $1.7 billion.
“Orange County is an unmatched location for the big leagues and has other avenues beyond the Rays to acquire a team,” stated Barry Larkin, an advocate for the prospective Orlando ownership group, in a news release on Thursday.
Hall of Fame shortstop Larkin stated, “This does not complicate our mission, nor does it change our plans for aggressively moving forward to the next phase of our initiative.” We are committed to completing the public side of the public/private collaboration, and we intend to establish our downtown office soon.
This week, the Tampa Bay Times revealed that Trip Miller, another investor, was also looking for a chance to make a bid for the Rays.
Exclusive talks usually last for a set amount of time, and if no purchase deal is achieved, the sale may be made available to other investors, like Miller or the Dreamers. Zalupski has no personal connections to the Tampa Bay area, but according to the Times, his firm has no plans to relocate the team.
Members of the Orlando organization have received calls from other investment groups that want to work together or collect funds to join other groups. However, John Morgan, a well-known Dreamers money man, stated that he had no desire to support a bid outside of Orlando.
Morgan is a major contributor to the Dreamers’ $2.5 billion fund, which they can use to purchase a team and construct a stadium.
In a statement, Morgan discussed Tampa Bay, saying, “As an investor, I made clear I had no interest in making a financial commitment if the team was going to remain there.”
According to him, Orange County and the Tampa area are not comparable in terms of Major League Baseball. Compared to Tampa-St. Pete, which is constrained by elevation, water, and other issues, particularly when it comes to locating a sizable sports stadium, Central Florida is expanding more quickly. Orlando, on the other hand, keeps growing quickly in all directions.
Morgan also pointed to Las Vegas, which is now home to clubs like the NFL’s Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights, and eventually MLB’s Athletics, as a prime illustration of how tourism contributes to the success of sports franchises.
According to him, Orange County will receive roughly twice as many visitors this year as Las Vegas.
In several aspects, the Dreamers and any ownership group hoping to retain the Rays in Tampa are facing the same obstacle: neither has a stadium site in mind.
After most recently pulling out of a deal in March, current Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been unable to come to an agreement with the Hillsborough or Pinellas county governments for years.
Although the Dreamers have their sights set on 35 acres of county-owned property close to SeaWorld, they have yet to come to an agreement with Orange County to secure the site, and they do not even currently have a necessary meeting with Mayor Jerry Demings scheduled.
But after giving a presentation to the International Drive Chamber of Commerce this week, Dreamers’ principal investor Rick Workman stated that he anticipates such a meeting to take place shortly.
According to the statement, “We have an unmatched location for our venue, right in the middle of 80 million tourists this year, and our stadium design will be the most impressive in all of baseball.”
Demings recently stated that it was worthwhile to discuss the baseball endeavor. He stated in his State of the County address that he had received approaches from several possible ownership organizations, but a spokesperson claimed the mayor would not name them.
The Dreamers assert that their MLB chase will continue even if the Rays are eventually sold to Zalupski or perhaps another bidder.
This week, they informed I-Drive business leaders that they are attempting to position themselves as a solution for the league, either as an expansion home in the event that the league decides to add new teams or as a solution for an existing team that is having trouble building a new stadium in their home market.
By 2029, when he plans to retire, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has stated that he hopes to start the process of adding two franchises to the league. Portland, Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Charlotte are among of the cities that have been mentioned in relation to potential new franchises.
The Oregon state government has approved up to $800 million for an expansion franchise in Portland, and the league is reportedly very interested in proposals with some kind of public support. At a recent speech in Apopka, Governor Ron DeSantis informed reporters that Florida would not be contributing similarly, but that the state may assist with highway exits or infrastructure costs if necessary.
In any case, several analysts believe it is improbable that the league will send a third franchise to Florida given the Rays’ and Miami Marlins’ current problems.
According to Larkin, his team hasn’t spoken directly with the Rays this week, but they have had private discussions with the league office to demonstrate that they are prepared for the major leagues.
Major League Baseball is experiencing instability and a difficulty, Larkin stated on Monday. All we can do is demonstrate to Major League Baseball that we have the stability and solution they require.
OrlandoSentinel.com/rygillespie
