by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The City is pulling out a familiar baseball refrain for its hopes to bring spring training ball to Jacksonville: “Wait ‘till next year.”
Spring training has already given way to Major League Baseball’s 2006 regular season. But next year the City hopes that Florida’s Grapefruit League wraps up its play at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports and Entertainment Board is working to bring a pair of major league teams to Jacksonville for a spring season-ending series. Ron Salem, chairman of the Sports and Entertainment Board, said The Player’s Championship’s move to May leaves a hole in Jacksonville’s sports calendar that could accommodate a spring training game or two.
The Grapefruit League comprises 18 teams from both the American and National leagues including high-profile teams like the New York Yankees and Mets and the Boston Red Sox.
But the headline teams want big money to play exhibition games, too big for Jacksonville. Salem is targeting teams a little further down MLB’s pecking order. Candidates include the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals. Salem estimated those mid-level teams would charge from $100,000 to $150,000 a piece in appearance fees.
The City hopes to match one of those teams up against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team trains in Vero Beach and is the parent club of the Jacksonville Suns.
The Dodgers played an exhibition game this year against the Suns, but Salem wants to match major league clubs next year.
In hosting the concluding series of the Grapefruit League, Salem hopes Jacksonville could duplicate the success of Las Vegas. That city hosts a series pairing teams from Arizona’s Cactus League.
The Las Vegas series has become a regular part of fans’ itineraries, something Salem thinks could happen in Jacksonville.
“They come down here to watch their teams play in spring training, then on their way back they can stop here for a couple of days, watch another game or two and maybe play a round of golf down at Ponte Vedra,” he said.
If the City gets approval from two Major League teams, Salem said the Sports Board will work with area hotels and golf courses to offer vacation packages to visiting fans.
But Salem wanted to assure Florida host cities that Jacksonville isn’t trying to poach their spring training teams.
“We’re not trying to take anybody’s team,” said Salem. “We’re just trying to get them for a game or two.”
During its Tuesday meeting, the Sports and Entertainment Board also:
• Moved a potential Gator Bowl Basketball Tournament back to at least January 2008. Sports and Entertainment Director Mike Sullivan said the Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences have already started scheduling for the upcoming year, making it too late to schedule a stop in Jacksonville. Those conferences face off in the New Year’s Day bowl game in Jacksonville.
• Decided to keep this year’s Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame banquet inside a tent near Alltel Stadium. Sullivan said the Sports Complex location builds interest in the banquet, which honors new inductees into the game’s hall of fame.
• Gave up, for this year at least, on pursuing the state’s high school boys basketball championship tournament. The tournaments’ demands for ticket revenue guarantees and other perks made hosting the tournament cost prohibitive. But Salem said the City will stay in touch with tournament representatives in case their asking price comes down.