My Annual Proposal To Disney To Move The Rays

I'm a little late to the party, but it saddens me to think of a potential future without spring training baseball in Central Florida. Last month, The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals announced plans to leave Kissimmee and Viera, respectively, for a brand-new facility in Palm Beach County.

This would likely create a ripple effect that could eventually facilitate the departures of the Braves and Tigers. Similar to Arizona spring baseball, most teams in Florida want to train and play within short distances of each other. This means the Tampa Bay region, the Fort Myers area, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast would all be chomping at the bit for future spring training occupants.

Of course, Central Florida is not hurting for tourism dollars with the presence of The Walt Disney Company, Universal, Sea World, WWE's NXT development program and, um... THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY!

Still, baseball is a part of the fabric of spring in the Orlando area. This is why I'm making my annual pitch to the good people at the aforementioned Disney to woo the Tampa Bay Rays once their St. Petersburg lease expires in 2027.

I've said this before and I'll give you the cliff-notes version again. Orlando sees a constant influx of people all year round. Disney still has a lot of space to devote to building a stadium or growing the current ballpark at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. Florida gets very hot in the summer. Not everyone wants to walk around the parks in July & August. A retractable roof stadium would do the trick for those needing to escape the heat.

For the diehard fans in Tampa/St. Pete, it's a 90 minute drive on the weekends. Surely, Disney could do a slew of promotional discounts to keep people on property for Saturday night. 25% off a new baseball-themed hotel stay? 25% off admission to any of the parks after 6pm if you show them your ticket stub for that day? Parking on Disney property is no more than it would be at any other stadium; in fact, it's probably less.

I for one would love to see the Orlando Rays, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.


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