Atlanta Braves Spring Training May Move to St. Pete

The 240-acre site of the old Toytown landfill may someday become the new Spring Training home for Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves.

The pitch was made recently following a request by Pinellas County Economic Development for proposals to develop the land. Three proposals were submitted, but SportsPark Partners LLC’s concept is gaining the most attention.

The group sees the site, which is located off Interstate 275 near Roosevelt Boulevard, as an expansive sports complex, complete with a stadium, indoor arena, a track and field venue, hotel space and more. The $662 million proposal is hoped to bring professional and amateur sports to the area, including the Braves.

While the Braves currently conduct Spring Training in the Orlando area their contract is up in a year. The team has indicated a “significant interest in exploring a partnership with you, your team and Pinellas County,” according to a letter written by John Schuerholz, the Braves’ president. That letter was included in SportsPark’s proposal for the site.

While it’s unclear if SportsPark will win the right to develop the land, Schuerholz wrote that he would like to see the deal close by the end of the year.

“Our goal is to work with you and Pinellas County to reach agreement on material terms of a deal by the end of 2015 such that design and construction could commence in 2016 and allow us to relocate our spring training operations from Champion Stadium in Kissimmee to this development in time for the 2018 Spring Training Season.”

The SportsPark team anticipates the project would create 3,361 jobs and about $800 million in annual revenue.

Other bidders for the property include Charles Puccini and Meridian Realty Capital.

Puccini wants to build a solar complex that would produce energy for a development that would include a movie theater, stores, rental homes, retail space and more.

Cincinnati-based Meridian envisions a town center with retail and restaurant space, about 1,500 homes, a skate park and other amenities.

All proposals are currently under review by a committee that will ultimately report to the Pinellas County Commission. It is unclear how soon recommendations will be made.

Pinellas County currently spends about $750,000 a year maintaining the site of the former landfill, which closed in the 1980s.

What would you like to see happen with the Toytown property? Share your ideas by commenting below!

Ariel shot of the Toytown redevelopment site from Pinellas County Economic Development