The Cleveland Indians in Citrus County?
By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society
MLB Spring Training – Big Business
Major league baseball teams have traveled to Florida for Spring training for over 100 years. The warm temperatures and better field conditions allow teams to prepare their staffs for the upcoming season before heading to their home stadiums (which can be still covered with snow). There are two major Spring training locations – the Cactus League mainly centered in Arizona and the Grapefruit League in Florida. Since many fans from Northern cities travel Southward to watch their favorite teams, having an MLB training facility can lead to significant benefits for host cities. On the other hand, costs for hosting cities can also be significant, since MLB teams are constantly changing training sites based on better / newer facilities at other locations. This situation leads to Florida cities competing against each other to land an MLB spring training site – only to be disappointed when the team moves on to a better deal a few years later. MLB teams know that they can play “hardball” during negotiations with a targeted host city by playing off potential suitors against each other. This is the story of how the Cleveland Indians almost established their new Spring Training home in the sleepy town of Hernando, FL in 1991.
The Committee of 100
A group headed by the developer of Citrus Springs wanted to bring an MLB team to Citrus County for Spring Training. This was part of an ambitious plan to complement the new ballpark with a large hotel, resort and new shopping mall. They envisioned that this complex would be located about two miles North of the town of Hernando FL, in between Route 41 and Route 200. They first approached the Pittsburgh Pirates, who exhibited some interest in the location. They ultimately decided to move to a more central location in southern Florida. The Boston Red Sox reportedly had Citrus County on their list of potential cities, but never seriously considered our county. Not to be discouraged, the Committee reached out to the Cleveland Indians, who were rumored to be dissatisfied with their current arrangement in Tucson AZ.
Indians on the Move
The Indians had been located in Arizona for over 45 years. Since originally establishing training there, the facilities did not keep pace with those enjoyed by other teams. In addition, any Ohio fans who wanted to attend Sprint training would be faced with a three-day drive and little to keep them entertained except go to the ballpark. Indians management cast their eyes to Florida since the drive from Cleveland would be much shorter and many fans were wintering in the Sunshine State anyway. They surveyed the available options and put Citrus County on their short list of candidate locations. The Committee of 100 painted a picture of opportunities for further real estate development for the team owners. The Citrus Hills developer even offered to donate over 117 acres in Hernando for the new facility. As an additional benefit, the Citrus site was within a three-hour drive of many other team’s facilities than was the case in Arizona.
A Surprise Announcement
On November 7, 1990 the baseball world was shocked by the announcement that the Cleveland Indians had signed a letter of intent to move their Spring training operations to Citrus County. Tucson officials were stunned since the negotiations were conducted with the utmost secrecy. They attempted to make some concessions but they could not counter the arguments about favorable geography. A 7,000-seat stadium was envisioned with four practice fields. Living quarters and medical facilities would also be included. Hotels and shopping amenities would accommodate the hordes of fans that would follow “The Tribe”. Assuming all of the details could be worked out, the new stadium would be open for the 1993 Spring training season. Team management and county leaders had a 90-day period to complete their negotiations and execute a final contract. The team hired an intermediary to facilitate the discussions.
The Devil’s in the Details
There would be a significant financial commitment from the county and its citizens. The facility and road improvements were projected to cost about $8 million. The burden of paying for the complex would fall upon Citrus County and State of Florida. Florida’s Economic Development Authority was expected to provide a $2 million grant. Local businesses would be asked to donate $500,000. Most of the recreational impact fees that the county had collected over the years would be diverted to the project (approximately $400,000). The county would commit to selling at least 5,000 season tickets for the Spring training period every year. Finally, the county’s tourist tax would be raised from 2% to 4% and most of that income would be allocated to the new venture. The increased tourist tax was projected to make $4.8 million available for the project. Since the impact would be county-wide, 4 of the 5 County Commissioners needed to approve the plan before the tax could be raised.
The county would own the facility but would lease to the Indians. The preliminary agreement called for the Indians to commit to stay in Citrus County for 20 years. They would pay for some of the infrastructure improvements and provide field maintenance, security, and operational services. The team committed to having a presence in the community and would encourage players to welcome local residents. They would explore bringing a Florida State League minor league team to Hernando, which would ensure greater use of the facility. The county would be able to use the field for local events when the Indians didn’t need the facilities. Local boosters claimed that visitors would spend more money in the local area so businesses across the county would benefit.
If you’re keeping track of the math, note that the team did not commit to financially contributing to construction costs.
East Citrus vs. West Citrus
Citrus County residents were split into two camps. People living in Eastern Citrus County, where the stadium would be located, were overwhelmingly in favor of the project. Local hotels and restaurants foresaw a huge increase in business. They claimed that there would be more visitors to the county as a whole and that people would stay for more days since there would be more attractions that supported each other.
Businesses in the Western part of the county, particularly Crystal River and Homosassa, saw no benefits to their operations at all. They stated that their hotels and restaurants were already enjoying full capacity levels and that bringing more visitors to the Eastern part of the county would not help them at all. Furthermore, they said that the existing 2% tourist tax was a sticking point for some of their current visitors and that raising that tax to 4% would lead to more complaints from their customers. They were incensed that their businesses would be penalized to support development elsewhere that would result in zero benefits for them. The Citrus County Council, which represented 13 organizations and 6,000 members, officially denounced the plan.
The stage was set for a showdown at the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) meeting on December 18, 1990 when Citrus leaders would decide whether or not to approve the proposed increase to the tourist tax.
Upon Further Review
Hundreds of citizens turned out for the critical BoCC meeting. Passionate arguments on both sides of the proposal were considered by the Commissioners. Some opponents were further concerned that property tax rates might be impacted if there were shortfalls in projected funding sources. In the end, two of the county leaders felt that they needed more details about the final agreement before they would commit to increasing the tourist tax. Since the measure required four positive votes to pass, the motion was defeated. Boosters of the Indians proposal were stunned. The team had expected the approval of the tax increase as a prerequisite to contract negotiations and this development sent them back to the drawing board. The team and boosters publicly claimed this was only a minor setback and that BoCC approval would be obtained after the details were finalized. Far from being settled, the East vs. West battle continued in Citrus County.
A Late Rally
Even though the tourist tax increase was halted for now, negotiations continued between the county and the owner’s agent. The Indians management was adamant that the tourist tax issue needed to be resolved before final negotiations could take place. The BoCC was assured that the draft contract details would be ready for public review by the February 20 meeting, so they agreed to address the tourist tax issue first. As of the end of January, 1,600 season tickets had been sold, State grant of $2 million was moving along and donations of $100,000 had been pledged. Based on assurance in a six-page draft contract, the BoCC agreed to increase the tourist tax. The full contract was supposed to be completed by April 2, but both sides asked for a delay.
Strike Three
A 48-page draft was constructed by Indians legal staff and sent to Citrus County officials in April. When they reviewed the final draft, the BoCC was shocked to see that many of the assurances provided in past discussions were reneged. The county would be responsible for security, operations and maintenance. The team reserved the right to deny use of the field for any other use. Income from all advertising in the ballpark and scoreboard would be given to the team. There was no long-term timeframe for the team’s lease, but rather a 30-day notice would be sufficient with undefined compensation from the team. The BoCC informed the Indians management that the contract was extremely one-sided and not acceptable. County leaders requested an extension of the negotiation timeframe. The Indians never responded to the extension request.
On June 8, 1991 the Cleveland Indians announced that they had signed a contract to move their Spring training facility to Homestead FL.
Post Game Analysis
After the Cleveland Indians made the fateful announcement in 1991, they proceeded to finish with the worst record in baseball – setting an all-time team record of 105 losses. They struggled to maintain attendance at their home field – cavernous 74,000 seat Municipal Stadium. There were many games when attendance dipped below the 5,000 level they had mandated for Citrus County.
Their planned move to a new facility in Homestead was impacted by Hurricane Andrew. The site was so damaged by the storm that the Indians moved their training to the empty Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven. In the rough-and-tumble world of MLB contracts, Winter Haven managed to hold onto the Indians until they decided to return to Arizona in 2009 (over the objections of Homestead officials).
The contract offered to Citrus County was untenable and our officials took appropriate action to safeguard the future finances of our community. While having a relationship with an MLB would have put Citrus County “on the map”, the cost of doing so was ultimately too high.
The Final Word
“If all the opposition would have kept their mouths shut, we would had have a signed agreement” – Citrus Hills developer and main proponent Sam Tamposi
Special thanks to Chronicle reader Sean Furniss, who made the suggestion for this story and provided further information about Citrus County’s encounter with the Cleveland Indians