Future of Vero Beach Sports Village still up in air - TCPalm
PHOTO PROVIDED This is a rendering of the cloverleaf of fields being built at Vero Beach Sports Village.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Construction on a cloverleaf of four new softball and youth baseball fields is under way at the Vero Beach Sports Village, and local officials are hoping the $2.5 million project will help Minor League Baseball drum up enough business to stay open.
MiLB, which took over operation of the former Dodgertown property in April 2009, continues to field interest from other entities interested in assuming its lease after one deal fell through this summer. MiLB reported it lost $1 million on the facility in 2010 and will money again this year.
Indian River County Commissioner Peter O'Bryan said his understanding was that the MiLB board of directors was strongly encouraging MiLB President Pat O'Conner to act on interest from other possible tenants. However, O'Bryan said he hopes the new fields and a recent increase in bookings will help keep MiLB in play.
"They lost a fair amount the first year and are still losing some money this year, but it seems like they have turned the corner and are picking up repeat business with the college and high school teams and the (University of South Florida) football team and the Chinese and Italian national (baseball) teams," O'Bryan said. "It seems like they are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After going through all that, is this when you really want to walk away?"
O'Conner said there is no directive to "get out," but acknowledged he is still listening to offers. MiLB has a five-year lease with two five-year options.
"We've had several people approach us, and we are always talking with people who have expressed an interest," O'Conner said. "It's not just with Vero Beach. With all our assets, when people approach us, we will listen."
O'Conner previously had expressed displeasure in MiLB's dealings with the county in trying to build the new fields and with the delays in adding lighting to current fields — which has been completed.
The facility has played host to a variety of sports teams the past two years but bookings were limited to mainly bringing in teams from the high school and college level to professional teams from other countries. The youth fields, to be completed by April, add the ability to accommodate softball teams and youth baseball teams that previously were unable to play on the larger-sized ball diamonds.
"We are still very limited in what we can do, but construction is under way for the cloverleaf, which will be a huge asset, and plans are under way for new multipurpose fields," O'Conner said. "That increases the inventory, and that's what we have said we needed from Day 1, so that's progress. Programming is up, room nights are up. We're making strides in the right direction."
The new fields will accommodate boys' youth baseball at the 9-and-under to 12-and-under age divisions and girls' fast-pitch softball and will include covered spectator seating and a centralized plaza with full concessions and restrooms. The project also coincides with the addition of high school softball spring training in 2012 and college spring training to follow in 2013.
"It will add a lot more programming to the community with a lot of college and high school teams coming to the area who wouldn't come in the past because there were not the facilities to accommodate them," VBSV vice president Craig Callan said.
"We're gaining traction and that's good."
15 Oct, 2011--
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