Many baseball executives and player agents expect that eventually a system will be put in place where major league teams could purchase players directly from teams in Serie Nacional – the Cuban professional league – with the Cuban government getting a share of the sale price.
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It was quite the gala: more than 100 local business and political leaders, including Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, were present for the ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the $144-million complex, set to open in spring training 2017 as Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
US teams played spring training games in Cuba before Fidel Castro’s revolution but none appeared there from March 1959 until the Baltimore Orioles faced Cuba’s national team in Havana in March 1999.
“With the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals spending spring in Jupiter and the NY Mets training in Port St. Lucie, West Palm beach Mayor Jeri Muoio says the new stadium is good for the economy and fans”. The seating area of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will hold more than 6,400 people, while the berm area will hold an additional 1,250.
Estimated construction costs are already expected to go beyond the $135 million once expected, with the teams required to cover the difference.
“I look forward to watching a game there soon”, Gov. Rick Scott said in an video shown at Monday’s groundbreaking.
Concerns about where to build and how to pay for a new stadium at times threatened to sink efforts to attract the Astros and Nationals. Also, the teams objected to an alternative location proposed at the county’s John Prince Park in Lake Worth.
Crane, who also owns the Floridian National Golf Club in nearby Palm City, touched on the various attractions the West Palm Beach area offers. After that meeting, Major League Baseball released a statement saying Manfred would make his final decision by the end of the year. “There will be dialogue with the owners next week and we will continue our conversations with the MLBPA on this topic”, Manfred said.
The deal didn’t come without a few cooperation between the county and the city, which both agreed to a land swap. What I mean by that was that we had a really interesting uptick in offense late in the year this year.
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“For us, we’re OK” with the timing of the Nationals’ move, County Commission Chairman Robin Fisher said.
