Orlando Takes Big Step In Bringing MLB Team To Central Florida
Several Major League Baseball franchises are in an era of transition, and a group in the Orlando area is hoping to lure one of those organizations to Central Florida.
On Thursday, an organization called the Orlando Dreams made an announcement that it has secured $1.5 billion in funding to bring an MLB team to the city and construct a state-of-the-art stadium. Per the Orlando Sentinel, the money is currently in the form of "preliminary letters of intent and verbal commitments from qualified investors."
The organization's public-facing personality is Barry Larkin, a long-time member of the Cincinnati Reds and a Hall of Famer, who lives in the Orlando area.
"We are extremely pleased with the recent rapid progress in financing interest towards prospective MLB team acquisition," Larkin said in a statement. Co-founder of the Orlando Dreamers organization Jim Schnorf said that "Enthusiasm for an Orlando MLB franchise has hit a fever pitch in recent weeks. … We feel the heavy lifting part of team acquisition financing and stadium financing has been accomplished."
The target organization to relocate to Orlando? It might be the nearby Tampa Bay Rays.
Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Orlando Stadium Effort Has Power Backing In MLB
The Sentinel reported that, per its sources, the effort has "gotten the attention of Rays ownership, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Gov. Ron DeSantis and local politicians."
This same organization also has what it described as an "anchor investor" who would be willing to buy all or part of a team that's interested in coming to Orlando.
The Rays make the most sense as a potential relocation target; they play just 85-90 miles from Orlando, Tropicana Field is nowhere close to playable, and their announced deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg fell apart just last month.
Manfred and DeSantis have both stated they want to keep the Rays in the state, with DeSantis previously saying that the league has no interest in moving a team out of the country's fastest-growing state.
"There’s no way they [MLB] want to leave Florida," DeSantis said. "They’re committed to working here because we have the fastest-growing state. … I know there’s people that have been interested in buying the team … and there’s people who want to bring baseball to other parts of the state."
The potential stadium would be built on a plot of land near SeaWorld Orlando, which sits in the middle of the region. That location would be just a few miles from the Universal Orlando resort, Disney World property, and near tens of thousands of hotel rooms.
While the Dreamers organization has secured the vast majority of the funding to build the stadium, the city or county would still be required to contribute. Though the vehicle and a potential commitment has yet to be determined.
For the most part, this seems like the cleanest solution for keeping the Rays in Florida, as well as a second major league team. It's clearly not sustainable for them to continue playing in the Yankees spring training facility, Rays owner Stu Sternberg has shown little ability to progress towards a new, modern building, and the Tampa region has done little to demonstrate its desire to support a major league team.
Why not try Orlando? MLB might do just that.