So Crotty, the Orange County mayor, is handing off negotiations to his successor, Teresa Jacobs.
After seeing the early project outlines, Crotty wrote Armando Gutierrez Jr., to say he had too many land, lease and cost concerns to work out before leaving office.
After seeing the early project outlines, Crotty wrote Armando Gutierrez Jr., to say he had too many land, lease and cost concerns to work out before leaving office.
"I regret your proposal bears no resemblance to our initial conversations," Crotty wrote to Gutierrez on Oct. 28. "Unfortunately, it is not even in the ballpark."
Gutierrez and other investors want to lure the New York Yankees' Class A affiliate from Tampa and build a $20 million, 6,500-seat stadium where the team can play. The plan also envisions a baseball museum and a retail venture, all built on county-owned land near International Drive and the BeachLine Expressway.
Gutierrez said the early talks with county officials were "going good," and he downplayed cost concerns raised by Crotty's staff, saying, "We are not going to take any public money from the county."
But both sides are still so far apart that each agrees negotiations will basically wait for Jacobs, who will be sworn in Jan. 4. Jacobs said she could not comment on the proposal until she had time to study it.
Four months after launching a bid last year for Congress against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, Gutierrez, 29, suddenly dropped from the race in February to pursue a pro baseball franchise.
Skeptics were rampant. Florida's major-league teams — the Miami-based Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays — struggle to attract fans. The last minor-league team in Orlando left for Montgomery, Ala., in 2003.
In early September, Gutierrez said he was negotiating with Yankees officials to bring a team to play in Orlando. Last month, Gutierrez's group, Baseball Enterprise LLC, laid out more specifics, including a proposed license and lease deal, tax-revenue projections and site renderings.
Crotty balked and listed his concerns in a six-page memo.
Initial talks centered on 12 to 15 acres of county-owned land for the project, but the actual proposal seeks 25 acres with an option on seven more, which would include room for 60,000 square feet of commercial space. That much public land is thought to be worth about $25 million, county officials estimate, and it's not clear that a private company can use it for profit-making enterprises.
State law bars certain commercial uses on public land, and the deal proposed by Baseball Enterprises would amount to "a lease, if not a donation, of county land," that might be needed for other public projects and subject to bidding rules, Crotty's memo states.
In addition, Baseball Enterprises sought to avoid paying property taxes, impact fees
and requested a 99-year lease, with two renewal options of the same length, the memo said. The early plan turned over to Crotty also envisioned construction of a pedestrian bridge over the BeachLine, a chilled-water plant and possible extension of utilities at the site to be paid by the county.
Gutierrez and other investors want to lure the New York Yankees' Class A affiliate from Tampa and build a $20 million, 6,500-seat stadium where the team can play. The plan also envisions a baseball museum and a retail venture, all built on county-owned land near International Drive and the BeachLine Expressway.
Gutierrez said the early talks with county officials were "going good," and he downplayed cost concerns raised by Crotty's staff, saying, "We are not going to take any public money from the county."
But both sides are still so far apart that each agrees negotiations will basically wait for Jacobs, who will be sworn in Jan. 4. Jacobs said she could not comment on the proposal until she had time to study it.
Four months after launching a bid last year for Congress against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, Gutierrez, 29, suddenly dropped from the race in February to pursue a pro baseball franchise.
Skeptics were rampant. Florida's major-league teams — the Miami-based Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays — struggle to attract fans. The last minor-league team in Orlando left for Montgomery, Ala., in 2003.
In early September, Gutierrez said he was negotiating with Yankees officials to bring a team to play in Orlando. Last month, Gutierrez's group, Baseball Enterprise LLC, laid out more specifics, including a proposed license and lease deal, tax-revenue projections and site renderings.
Crotty balked and listed his concerns in a six-page memo.
Initial talks centered on 12 to 15 acres of county-owned land for the project, but the actual proposal seeks 25 acres with an option on seven more, which would include room for 60,000 square feet of commercial space. That much public land is thought to be worth about $25 million, county officials estimate, and it's not clear that a private company can use it for profit-making enterprises.
State law bars certain commercial uses on public land, and the deal proposed by Baseball Enterprises would amount to "a lease, if not a donation, of county land," that might be needed for other public projects and subject to bidding rules, Crotty's memo states.
In addition, Baseball Enterprises sought to avoid paying property taxes, impact fees
and requested a 99-year lease, with two renewal options of the same length, the memo said. The early plan turned over to Crotty also envisioned construction of a pedestrian bridge over the BeachLine, a chilled-water plant and possible extension of utilities at the site to be paid by the county.
"This is an unacceptable burden on the public," Crotty wrote.
But Gutierrez said that as far as utility and road costs are concerned, "as a show of good faith, we'll pay those expenses." State transportation officials, not county taxpayers, would be approached for funding a pedestrian bridge, he said.
David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311
But Gutierrez said that as far as utility and road costs are concerned, "as a show of good faith, we'll pay those expenses." State transportation officials, not county taxpayers, would be approached for funding a pedestrian bridge, he said.
David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311
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