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Red Sox spring training about more than money
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Red Sox Rally
The Fort Myers rotary club, who volunteers at City of Palms Park to help with parking during spring training, held a luncheon and rally in support of keeping the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers.
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FORT MYERS — Spring training is an important cog in Lee County’s economic engine but keeping the Boston Red Sox coming back each year is also a quality of life issue, officials stressed at a “Save Our Sox” rally Tuesday.
“Baseball has always been important here, and not only for our business and the economy,” said state Rep. Nick Thompson, R-Fort Myers, who watched the Kansas City Royals train each spring while growing up in Fort Myers. “We’ve always been close to baseball, and it’s important for the kids who grow up here.”
The rally was part of a Rotary Club of Fort Myers luncheon held in the press box at City of Palms Park.
About 120 government officials, Rotary Club members and other business executives attended.
Lee County commissioners Ray Judah and Frank Mann, Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral, and Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, also spoke to the group. Most echoed Thompson’s sentiment.
At one point, Saunders fired up the crowd by leading a “Save Our Sox” chant for television cameras.
“We’re holding the rally because of the Red Sox’s economic impact, from one perspective,” Rotary president Patricia Bell said before the luncheon. “But there are also charitable works the team is involved with, and partnerships in the community that people don’t see. There are other reasons it’s very important to keep them here.”
The Rotary Club is one of the Red Sox charitable partners, parking cars in a field adjacent to City of Palms Park during spring training games to raise money that is distributed to local causes.
Lee Memorial Hospital System’s pediatric cancer unit has received more than $4 million, Judah noted.
“They do a lot for the community,” said Samantha Howes, a Fort Myers CPA and Rotary Club member. “We park cars and receive $30,000 from the Red Sox for doing so. That’s a major part of the money we raise.”
Howes wore a Red Sox cap to the luncheon and brought her two young sons, Anthony and Nick. The boys were dressed in Red Sox jerseys.
“We love the Red Sox, they’re good winners and they’ve been in Fort Myers for a while,” said Nick, 10.
“They’re champions,” added Anthony, 12.
The rally was a good way to show the Red Sox organization that Lee County is committed to keeping the team, said Jeff Mielke, executive director of the Lee County Sports Authority.
“To show them this kind of support above and beyond county staff is important,” he said. “They will see an outpouring from the public, the business community and from politicians other than the County Commission. It makes a difference.”
Mielke said a state study conducted in 2000 found that baseball teams brought an average $25 million economic benefit to Florida communities that host spring training. The current impact is unknown but estimated to be $35 million to $40 million each year.
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Well it sounds like its back to the drawing board for the City of Ft Myers.Instead of spending money on an industry that lasts only a few weeks a year why can't Ft. Myers strum up real industries that could actually employee people and would have year round economic impacts. Its this reason that the Red Sox do not want to stay in a city that has nothing to offer.
#1 Posted by NaplesCritic on September 23, 2008 at 7:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The headline: about more than money.
The story: all about money.
#2 Posted by swampbuggy on September 23, 2008 at 8:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Stop the WASTE .. change the board majority.
Dist-3 Les COCHRAN
http://lescochran.com/
Dist-1 Carla JOHNSTON
http://carlajohnstoncampaign.com/
STOP spending tax dollars for corporate and government welfare, including sports stadiums.
City of Fort Myers debt is near $400 million, including the City of Palms stadium, and repayments require about $12 million annually.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/...
The Red Sox keep all the ticket revenues from spring training in Fort Myers.
The team also keeps all the concession revenue, parking fees and advertising proceeds from City of Palms stadium.
Meanwhile, Lee County taxpayers foot most of the $1.2 million annual cost to keep the grass mowed and the stands clean.
The Red Sox pay an annual lease of $300,000.
"All the revenue is retained by the Red Sox," said Jeff Milke, director of the Lee County Sports Authority.
"They don't pay anything. It's a great deal."
For the past four seasons, the Red Sox have sold out every game in Fort Myers.
At a capacity of 7,575 and an average ticket price of $20, the team brought in about $2 million.
#3 Posted by jacktanner on September 23, 2008 at 9:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Quality of whose life? All those Yankees who come down here and watch them for the few weeks of spring training. Meanwhile, were stuck with the bill all year round. How about spending that money on actual programs for the youth. Last I checked childhood obesity is up! How about promoting our local state MLB teams? I hate it when I turn on a local sports broadcast! All I see is Red Sox and Twins, and then the last 5 secs you might get a local team score, its no wonder it so hard to keep a baseball team in this state. This is about as ridiculous as the government bailing out corporate companies.
#4 Posted by NaplesCritic on September 23, 2008 at 9:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW! FOUR MILLION DOLLARS to ONE CANCER UNIT in Ft. Myers for children here, where this unit SERVES FIVE FREAKIN COUNTIES.
SHARE THE LOVE, and donate to ALL THE HOSPITALS HERE.
Yes, that would be Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Hendry and Glades in case you were wondering.
And as children with cancer and families drive for hours each week to get treatments because their own home town offers nothing for cancer treatments, maybe donate some gas money to those families, too. Ticket sales are ultimately paying for this donation, not the team. THE FANS make or break this team.
cheetah Beetle AGREES WITH YA!
#5 Posted by beetlejuice on September 23, 2008 at 11:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i agree with cheetahtomoh ...BASEBALL sucks i dont know how its consider america's game when NFL and NBA has more viewers...please give me a break nobody cares...
#6 Posted by Marleyson on September 24, 2008 at 12:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are no independent, impartial studies that prove big league sports bring big benefits to any community.
They do bring in money, but most of that goes to teams and owners. The taxpayers, once again, get stuck with the bills.
All those promised benefits from building Sox stadium never materialized in Lee County. We're hearing the same old promises and wild claims again for this new round of corporate welfare.
Sox have struck out in Lee. Should walk to Sarasota.
#7 Posted by Bramble on September 24, 2008 at 5:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm with you NaplesCritic. I would rather see this money spent on better local need uses. I too am tired of watching the local sports and seeing nothing but Red Sox news. It's about time they payed attention to the local teams both who played well this year.
We have a team two hours north of us who is about to win their division with one of the best records in MLB but all we hear about is the Red Sox.
The ownership of the RS is even on record that they would prefer to move the team to Sarasota as the they do not care for Ft Myers. Why do you think that Sarasota is working so hard to get them up there?
I am glad that I don't live in Lee County, as I would hate to see all this time and money being spent on keeping this bunch of overpriced and spoiled athletes around.
#8 Posted by swfl_ff on September 24, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hope the Rays put a beatdown on beantown. Drive'em out so we can do without that other annoying language and stuck-up attitudes down here. Pahk yah cah in Hahvid yahd. Worst fans. win or lose in MLB!
#9 Posted by Sergeant_O_Rourke on September 24, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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