PressBoxOnline: John Angelos on Sarasota

[weams]

http://www.pressboxonline.com/2015/02/12/orioles-spring-training-in-sarasota-offers-a-warm-welcome?partnerId=as_bal_20150218_40687636&adbid=568073697216450560&adbpl=tw&adbpr=39389304

"We did the deal [with Sarasota in 2009] because the [Orioles] ownership felt it was such a good community and such a good fit for the fan base, and it was an equally good fit for the player development function," said Orioles executive vice president John Angelos, who headed the long search for a permanent spring training home.

...

There was also still the matter of selling the Orioles to Sarasota's political leaders, even though the team had its supporters there. Local government would have to find some of the money to refurbish Sarasota's aging Ed Smith Stadium.

"We told them that we had a better construct to promote their community to our community," said Angelos, son of Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

...

"Something else we knew we could do was bring our marketing platform to bear in ways we knew that other teams didn't do or haven't done," Angelos said, "because they didn't have the things that we have at our disposal, or they weren't willing to put it together."

[markdublya]

Love the town and love the stadium. Now if we can just get someone to fly there nonstop from BWI....at least for 6 weeks of the year!

[TonySoprano]

My recollection was Andy and Peter had to come in and salvage the Sarasota negotiations

MacPhail also deflected praise for his role in the club’s spring training home move from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota, saying he was merely “President of Complaints.”

“Peter Angelos was the one who got us into Sarasota,” MacPhail said. “That really was his deal, because he toured them all. My chief contribution was complaining bitterly about Fort Lauderdale. ... I really think what Peter did there was really underestimated and undervalued. Starting a season with your weight facility as a tent in a parking lot? If you subscribe anything to people’s mindset and you think of any of that aspect of people thinking about the environment that they’re in, that it matters, that was just a huge upgrade.”

source - The Sun, Dec. 9, 2013

The latest setback came on Wednesday when the Sarasota County Commissioners voted against increasing a local tourist development tax to pay for a new stadium for the Orioles. They want instead to take the much cheaper route of upgrading the existing downtown ballpark and training complex.

Sarasota would have anted up to get the Red Sox, but the Orioles obviously don't have the same cache. Now, they're caught between two localities that seem to be backing away from them. Vero Beach officials cut off negotiations the other day and have imposed a 30-day cooling off period to consider offers from non-MLB entities for the use of the Dodgertown complex.

Once again, it appears the O's have overplayed their hand, assuming they had enough leverage to squeeze whatever they wanted out of one of the cities that recently lost its major league tenant. They may be able to go back to Vero Beach next month and resume negotiations, but it appears they may be doomed to a lesser deal than they could have gotten if they were more decisive.

source - Peter Schmuck, Dec 18, 2008

[weams]

My recollection was Andy and Peter had to come in and salvage the Sarasota negotiations

source - Peter Schmuck, Dec 18, 2008

Peter Schmuck? No, he is funny though.

[Can_of_corn]

Peter Schmuck? No, he is funny though.

It still amazes me that he was at one time the president of the BBWAA.

[bobmc]

It still amazes me that he was at one time the president of the BBWAA.

We all get old, fat, lazy and full of ourselves.....just sayin' (ahem no knock on Peter though....

Signed,

Prez of the OFLFOOA

[Number5]

We all get old, fat, lazy and full of ourselves.....just sayin' (ahem no knock on Peter though....

Signed,

Prez of the OFLFOOA

...of America

[TonySoprano]

Ask John

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Curious how <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles">@orioles</a> created our world class <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sarasota?src=hash">#Sarasota</a> complex? read <a href="https://twitter.com/PressBoxOnline">@PressBoxOnline</a> & I will take your questions <a href="http://t.co/6LoOQ3Hyj2">http://t.co/6LoOQ3Hyj2</a></p>— John P Angelos (@JohnPAngelos) <a href="

">February 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[weams]

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/164740414

An economic impact analysis by Sarasota County Government has concluded that the Orioles' corporate presence through Spring Training and year-round baseball activities, as well as the club's promotion of entertainment and tourism, generated approximately $81 million in the Greater Sarasota community in the past year. The figure far exceeds the $40- to $50-million estimate reported by the State of Florida in a 2009 analysis of communities that host Major League Baseball Spring Training.

The Sarasota County study included the tourism impact created by the Orioles through Spring Training games and additional sports and entertainment events hosted by the club at Ed Smith Stadium and the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex. The Orioles' year-round presence, job creation, economic activity, commerce, and direct club spending also contributed substantially to the results.

"In 2009, the Orioles presented an unprecedented, private-public partnership proposal to Sarasota County and the State of Florida that re-envisioned the model for how Major League Baseball clubs would engage with and deliver economic value to their Spring Training homes," said John Angelos, Orioles Executive Vice President. "Through a transformational partnership, we pledged to devote our facilities, industry expertise, and media platforms to driving incremental tourism through a sister-city approach that would generate a significant return on investment in a community that has historically embraced the game of baseball."

"At the time, the Orioles and industry analysts estimated that we would deliver approximately $40 million in annual economic impact, yet we had great confidence that our new partnership would produce substantially more than those estimates and ultimately inspire an entirely new and mutually-beneficial Spring Training model," Angelos continued.

[OFFNY]

My recollection was Andy and Peter had to come in and salvage the Sarasota negotiations.

MacPhail also deflected praise for his role in the club?s spring training home move from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota, saying he was merely ?President of Complaints.?

?Peter Angelos was the one who got us into Sarasota,? MacPhail said. ?That really was his deal, because he toured them all. My chief contribution was complaining bitterly about Fort Lauderdale. ... I really think what Peter did there was really underestimated and undervalued. Starting a season with your weight facility as a tent in a parking lot? If you subscribe anything to people?s mindset and you think of any of that aspect of people thinking about the environment that they?re in, that it matters, that was just a huge upgrade.?

source - The Sun, Dec. 9, 2013

I think that that was really cool of MacPhail to redirect the credit away from himself, and onto Angelos.

Thanks.

[Redskins Rick]

Love the town and love the stadium. Now if we can just get someone to fly there nonstop from BWI....at least for 6 weeks of the year!

1 hour drive from Tampa isn't bad at all.

[Redskins Rick]

I think that that was really cool of MacPhail to redirect the credit away from himself, and onto Angelos.

Thanks.

I remember a DD interview when he mentioned Andy and gives him credit for being an influence with the owner and spending the money there.

[abbott]

Love the town and love the stadium. Now if we can just get someone to fly there nonstop from BWI....at least for 6 weeks of the year!

Agree. Agree. Agree. Used to be able to fly direct BWI to Sarasota.

It's a great city.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Pruke]

I live about 5 minutes from the minors complex and 15 from the main field.

A relatively short trip via TPA, MCO or even RSW means you land and drive 90 min to your destination.

I personally attend 5-7 ST games a year and the park and the city are AWESOME.

If you plan can afford to burn 3+ days, it's definitely worth the trip.

If you plan your flights well enough you can likely cover your ticket cost via savings / driving from one of the many airport options.

[weams]

Who wants to take the credit for how long it took while:

1. The team played in sub standard facilities for years.

2. Had the ML and MiL facilities hours apart.

3. Had one year with all road games IIRC.

The result is great. The process was bush league.

I think we can all agree that the Angelos years in Baltimore were poor years. Thank goodness for MacPhail and Duquette.