Orange County's Chairman And Orlando's Mayor Said They Won't Make Any Effort To Lure The Devil Rays.
Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty and Mayor Glenda Hood said emphatically Friday there will be no effort by government to lure the Tampa Bay Devil Rays major-league baseball team to Orlando.
"The answer is no," said Hood, who led an unsuccessful drive for Major League Baseball six years ago. "There's no way the city is going to be involved in anything."
"The answer is no," said Hood, who led an unsuccessful drive for Major League Baseball six years ago. "There's no way the city is going to be involved in anything."
Added Crotty: "Right now, we're trying to make sure our existing professional sports team stays in town. This is just a very difficult time to start a debate."
Crotty was referring to the sometimes-heated negotiations between the county, city and the Orlando Magic basketball team over the squad's push for a new arena built mostly with tax dollars.
Devil Rays officials, losing money and suffering from poor attendance, announced Friday they would entertain offers to sell the last-place team.
Hood and Crotty were almost irritated they had to talk about the Devil Rays, the expansion team that was awarded to Tampa Bay instead of Orlando in 1995.
Unless a prospective owner wants to build a new stadium in Orlando with private funds, Hood and Crotty said, they want nothing to do with luring a team to the area.
Their stand was seconded by County Commissioner Ted Edwards, a lawyer employed by International Drive hotelier Harris Rosen to fight the 1995 drive to build a baseball stadium with the so-called tourist tax.
"There just isn't enough money," Edwards said. "Sure, I'd love to have baseball. And if a team could pay for most of its own stadium, we'd welcome them. But right now, the money isn't there."
Without support -- and money -- from the city and county, Greater Orlando's chances for landing baseball essentially are nil.
That's because team owners invariably expect local governments to contribute most, if not all, of the money needed to build stadiums. And Crotty and Hood are too busy scrambling to find enough money to replace the 12-year-old TD Waterhouse Centre, the Magic's home court.
The Magic is seeking more than $200 million from Orlando and Orange County for a building expected to cost at least $250 million.
City and county officials have balked at that request, saying the Magic must come up with more team money, although no specific number has been named.
Crotty was referring to the sometimes-heated negotiations between the county, city and the Orlando Magic basketball team over the squad's push for a new arena built mostly with tax dollars.
Devil Rays officials, losing money and suffering from poor attendance, announced Friday they would entertain offers to sell the last-place team.
Hood and Crotty were almost irritated they had to talk about the Devil Rays, the expansion team that was awarded to Tampa Bay instead of Orlando in 1995.
Unless a prospective owner wants to build a new stadium in Orlando with private funds, Hood and Crotty said, they want nothing to do with luring a team to the area.
Their stand was seconded by County Commissioner Ted Edwards, a lawyer employed by International Drive hotelier Harris Rosen to fight the 1995 drive to build a baseball stadium with the so-called tourist tax.
"There just isn't enough money," Edwards said. "Sure, I'd love to have baseball. And if a team could pay for most of its own stadium, we'd welcome them. But right now, the money isn't there."
Without support -- and money -- from the city and county, Greater Orlando's chances for landing baseball essentially are nil.
That's because team owners invariably expect local governments to contribute most, if not all, of the money needed to build stadiums. And Crotty and Hood are too busy scrambling to find enough money to replace the 12-year-old TD Waterhouse Centre, the Magic's home court.
The Magic is seeking more than $200 million from Orlando and Orange County for a building expected to cost at least $250 million.
City and county officials have balked at that request, saying the Magic must come up with more team money, although no specific number has been named.
As far as the Magic is concerned, most of the public's contribution to a new arena would come from the county's 5 percent tax on hotel rooms -- a levy that generates $120 million a year. It has been used to retrofit the Florida Citrus Bowl and paid for almost half of the $110 million Waterhouse Centre.
County and city officials passed a fifth penny on the tourist tax six years ago to pay for a baseball field if Orlando won a team. When would-be owner Norton Herrick of Boca Raton was turned down by Major League Baseball, that penny went toward promoting tourism and expanding the Orange County Convention Center.
All five pennies now are committed largely to a $750 million expansion of the already massive convention center. And tourism executives have vowed to intensely fight any move that could take significant amounts of money away from the center or advertising their industry.
Herrick, a real-estate investor, has said he would be interested in pursuing baseball again if Orlando would be willing to build the stadium and turn over most of the revenue to him, as was promised before. He could not be reached Friday.
As far as Crotty is concerned, the choice between the Magic and the Devil Rays is simple: "Constituencies sometimes get upset if you deny them something, but they become irate if you take something away."
County and city officials passed a fifth penny on the tourist tax six years ago to pay for a baseball field if Orlando won a team. When would-be owner Norton Herrick of Boca Raton was turned down by Major League Baseball, that penny went toward promoting tourism and expanding the Orange County Convention Center.
All five pennies now are committed largely to a $750 million expansion of the already massive convention center. And tourism executives have vowed to intensely fight any move that could take significant amounts of money away from the center or advertising their industry.
Herrick, a real-estate investor, has said he would be interested in pursuing baseball again if Orlando would be willing to build the stadium and turn over most of the revenue to him, as was promised before. He could not be reached Friday.
As far as Crotty is concerned, the choice between the Magic and the Devil Rays is simple: "Constituencies sometimes get upset if you deny them something, but they become irate if you take something away."
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