The group behind the bid to bring the big leagues to Orlando created the biggest public pitch on Monday, pledging a room for around 200 I-Drive businesses and community leaders on Monday.
However, the overall message from the panel members was clear. They urgently need a statement of government support to strengthen their efforts.
“That’s what we need right now, the clock is ticking,” said Jim Schnoff, co-founder of the Orlando Dreamers.
So far, county leaders have not played ball, but they remain interested in learning more. Major League Baseball itself is also available. Like the Tampa Bay Rays, the I-4’s immediate west franchise, where owners are reportedly under pressure to sell their teams.
The Orlando Group says it tried to avoid publicly commenting on the rays. But certainly, members see Central Florida as the best way for that team, future league expansions, or any other team that needs a stadium.
“We’re the solution to the problem. Major League baseball has problems. Major League baseball has instability,” said Barry Larkin, shortstop and dreamer ambassador for the Hall of Fame. “We’ve shown major league baseball that they have that stability and the solutions they need, and that’s all we can do.”
Larkin, Schnoff and lead investor Dr. Rick Workman discussed their bids in the hotel ballroom, a hotel ballroom that simply throws stones from the ideal stadium site next to Aquatica Water Park.
Workman said he and other county leaders have met with Snoff and others over the years, but he has not met in person with Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings about his property and overall bid.
“I feel so good when I get the chance to really sit with us and make different suggestions and hear what they need to hear to make the right decisions,” Workman said. “We don’t give them that much, and we want to have those meetings to do that.”
The Orlando Group has sought to build a coalition of support, saying that at least $2.5 billion is committed to the effort. Workman signed to become the owner of the dominant majority, and personal injury lawyer John Morgan committed hundreds of millions of dollars if the dreamer could land the ballpark on county-owned land near Seaworld.
The Dreamers leader says major league baseball essentially requires public support for the new stadium. This means that political buy-in is required. So far, one county commissioner, Mikescot, has publicly supported the effort.
The approximately 30 acres southeast of the International Drive and State Road interchange, the facility remains in county management, although it has been sought by the dreamers as an ideal ballpark location for years.
Demings has maintained his baseball effort at arm length and said in his annual county speech earlier this month that it is “worthy to have a conversation.” However, he was wary that “we create opportunities for billionaires and wealthy people to come in and make money, and our community will make money and not thrive as a result of that investment.”
Several other challenges lie ahead for the group. One is that no major league franchises are on the market at this time.
Future owners are looking for a new stadium in the Tampa Bay Area for many years but have been unable to agree with local governments to replace the Tropicana field.
For now, the team is playing at the 11,000-seat Stein Brenner Field in Tampa, the New York Yankees’ spring training stadium, but the Tropicana Field, where the Hurricane in St. Petersburg is being repaired.
Gov. Ron DeSantis last month emphasized the Rays’ future and said the state would not donate taxes to baseball stadiums. But wherever he was, he didn’t rule out the state’s support for roadways and new ballpark infrastructure.
“If someone buys a team and they want to build a nice new stadium, they can work with their local, cities, counties (government) if they want. But you know, we help out like roads and exits and help with things like that,” he said.
Dreamers have not met in person with Rays’ ownership, and the franchise refused to answer questions from the Sentinel on Monday about the current situation in Tampa.
If they land the franchise, Larkin said the ownership would “interact with the fanbase” in the actual team name, adding that “dreamer” Monica is merely the name of the initiative.
Larkin said he has “a confidential argument with the Commissioner’s office” but will not reveal anything more about them.
“This is a really sensitive issue,” he said. “We don’t want to create the kind of situation where we can send a message in any way, so I think the wise thing we do is keep everything home.”
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com
