Baseball talks edge forward with Dodgertown improvements big issue

Talks aimed at bringing the Baltimore Orioles to Vero Beach for spring training starting in 2010 continue to inch forward with the two sides apparently still some distance from agreement on what upgrades would need to be made to Dodgertown.

Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard, who together with Indian River County Administrator Joe Baird and the city and county attorneys have been negotiating with the Orioles, indicated that the aging Dodgertown facility will need some major improvements in order to finalize the deal.

"Lots of issues are still on the table at this point, and we want to get the best possible deal and hopefully we’ll be able to meet on common ground to come to an agreement," Gabbard told Vero Beach 32963.

“We’re approaching this very aggressively and as quickly as possible, but it is a matter of cost. You have to remember, this is, more than baseball. This is business,” said Gabbard.

The city manager declined to spell out what improvements the Orioles might be looking for -- speculation has ranged from the addition of roofed dugouts to construction of luxury boxes -- and said it was too early to estimate a price tag.

“But major league baseball brings in approximately $25 to $35 million a year to Indian River County," Gabbard said. "That is a huge economic impact that we don’t want to lose.

"This is a good, clean industry that would continue all year long because of the hotel facility, the conference center along with the minor league operations that go on during the summer months," he added.

Gabbard said he hoped an agreement could be concluded within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, sources indicated to Vero Beach 32963 that prospects may be fairly promising that an Oriole baseball deal will also see the Ripken Baseball program open a facility on the site of the former Dodgertown golf course.

A representative of the Ripken organization in Maryland said that while he could not confirm anything presently, “we are considering numerous possibilities to best use the Dodgertown facility should the Orioles come to Vero Beach.”