Southwest Floridians Visit DC On Quest For Nationals
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By DERON SNYDER/Special to The News-Press
WASHINGTON – With virtually everyone in town anxiously awaiting the return of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and Monday Night Football, a small contingent from Southwest Florida was relaxing in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel. They were less than a mile from the White House but this was no sightseeing trip.
Instead, Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais and Fort Myers City Manager Billy Mitchell, along with two other officials and two representatives from Rockford Construction had flown to the nation’s capital on a fishing trip. Using City of Palms Park as bait, they hoped to land the Washington Nationals as new spring training tenants.
“The goal for tonight is to come out of this and agree that a deal is possible,” said Desjarlais, about an hour before a scheduled meeting with Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner. “If everyone agrees, we’re going to set a pretty firm schedule to get work done leading up to the final decision making. I’d like to think we can have this thing settled in the next 60-90 days.”
Desjarlais described the meeting as a “fact-finding” mission, primarily for the Nationals and Rockford. Those two parties would have to work out the details of financing upgrades to City of Palm and the training facility a couple of miles away. Desjarlais estimates the deal would cost $40 million-$50 million.
“In order for this deal to work, it has to be a public-private partnership with all of the financing coming from the private sector – versus Lee County doing the financing like a lot of places are accustomed to,” he said. “Lee County simply doesn’t have the money.”
Desjarlais said the meeting was scheduled to last three hours. He intended to speak again afterward but changed his mind and opted to release the following statement:
“The meeting with Rockford Development and the Nationals was productive for Lee County and the City of Fort Myers. We were able to continue discussions about the potential structure of a public-private partnership that would make improvements to the City of Palms and have the Nationals here for Spring Training in 2015.”
The Nationals’ lease at Space Coast Stadium in Brevard County expires in 2017 and the team’s hopes for a new facility in Osceola County were dashed last month when commissioners there rejected a $98 million, tax-funded proposal. Desjarlais said Lee County called the Nationals the next day to revive relocation talks. Palm Beach County might be another option for the ballclub, but Desjarlais likes Lee’s chances.
Whatever the case, there will be no bidding war.
“We’re not in a position where we’re going to compete,” he said. “Either the Nationals are going to commit to Lee County or they’re going to negotiate someplace else. If they do that we’ll wish them the best of luck. Then we’ll get about the business of deciding what else might go in that property (City of Palms).”
