A new Orioles Dominican Republic Academy. (Youtube) looks complete.

[waynebug]

Elias says it's just as good as the Sarasota Complex.  3 baseball fields and dorms, kitchens and weight rooms.  Koby and Felipe Rojas Alou also provide insight.

Elias proudest moment.  He has other failings but Latin America is his strong suit.

He also said Latin America is just as important as the draft.

My smartphone won't provide a link, sorry.

[Can_of_corn]

Great news they finished it on time

 

[Absltgreek]

2 hours ago, waynebug said:

Elias says it's just as good as the Sarasota Complex.  3 baseball fields and dorms, kitchens and weight rooms.  Koby and Felipe Rojas Alou also provide insight.

Elias proudest moment.  He has other failings but Latin America is his strong suit.

He also said Latin America is just as important as the draft.

My smartphone won't provide a link, sorry.

I haven't seen anything new other than the original announcement video from about 6 months ago. It sounds like that's what you saw, based on the description. They said 12-18 months so there should still be a year to go until it's finished.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Absltgreek said:

I haven't seen anything new other than the original announcement video from about 6 months ago. It sounds like that's what you saw, based on the description. They said 12-18 months so there should still be a year to go until it's finished.

Looks that way to me too.  waynebug, is this what you saw?

 

 

[waynebug]

Yes that 's what my dumb ass saw.  I almost never wear my glasses because my covid mask fogs them up.  I  thought I was seeing completed architecture, not  some architects drawings.

 

 

[Frobby]

From Roch:

The Orioles broke ground yesterday on their new, state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra, Dominican Republic.

The club was represented by chairman and CEO John Angelos, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and senior director of international scouting Koby Perez.

Also in attendance were Dominican Republic president Luis Abinader, D.R. minister of sports Francisco Camacho Rivas and D.R. commissioner of baseball Junior Noboa.

The 22.5-acre complex will be home to the Orioles’ regional facility for Caribbean, Central and South American player development operations, and includes three full fields, a sports turfed agility field, batting and pitching tunnels, administrative buildings, dormitories and educational facilities.

The complex will house more than 100 players, coaches and staff, and provide dormitory-style rooms and entertainment spaces. There will be three classrooms and a computer lab for on-site learning and an education plan for each player.

The setup also comes with a dining room that offers daily nutritious meals.

The timetable for completion is 12-16 months.

https://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2021/10/alan-mills-thanks-fans-for-embracing-me.html

So, they’ll be ready for the 2023 season, we hope.  

[Can_of_corn]

That's behind schedule right?

I guess it isn't surprising given the pandemic but still not ideal.

[LookinUp]

You're forgiven, Wayne. It's a slow time of year for the O's so there's not much to talk about.

Here's the good news, in the next 8ish months... 

1. We'll graduate our top two prospects to the majors
2. We'll add 1 or 2 highly regarded international prospects on international signing day
3. We'll add the #1 overall pick in the draft
4. We'll add other "over slot" guys with the extra slot money granted from having #1 overall
5. (hopefully) we'll get to see Kjerstad back in action,
6. (hopefully) we'll start to see Baumler, and 
7. (hopefully) some of the existing international guys will start percolating up into the system.

So there should be a lot to talk about in the relatively near future. 

[emmett16]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

That's behind schedule right?

I guess it isn't surprising given the pandemic but still not ideal.

If getting a permit in DR is anything like getting a permit in DC, VA, or MD then I'd say they are right on time.  We heard about this 6 or 7 months ago.  I image that is when all plans were finalized and submitted for permitting/approval.  6 month wait for permit on a large commercial complex in DR seems about right.  When I first saw the announcement I assumed it would be a three year project.  Looks like it will end up being a 1.5 -2 years to completion.  I'm pleasantly surprised. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, emmett16 said:

If getting a permit in DR is anything like getting a permit in DC, VA, or MD then I'd say they are right on time.  We heard about this 6 or 7 months ago.  I image that is when all plans were finalized and submitted for permitting/approval.  6 month wait for permit on a large commercial complex in DR seems about right.  When I first saw the announcement I assumed it would be a three year project.  Looks like it will end up being a 1.5 -2 years to completion.  I'm pleasantly surprised. 

I'd be shocked to find out that getting a permit in DR was anything like DC or MD.

 

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/orioles-to-build-new-training-academy-in-dominican-republic/35915491

Quote

Construction on the facility in Guerra is set to begin in the next few months and is expected to take a little more than a year to complete.

That was March.

Sounds to me like it's a bit behind the initial schedule.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'd be shocked to find out that getting a permit in DR was anything like DC or MD.

 

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/orioles-to-build-new-training-academy-in-dominican-republic/35915491

That was March.

Sounds to me like it's a bit behind the initial schedule.

Yeah, unclear why it took six months from when they made the original announcement to finally break ground.   But, I’m glad they’ve finally done that.  

[Sports Guy]

It’s definitely behind schedule but materials are an issue for everyone in this covid age we are living in, so it’s not surprising when anything is slower than it should be.

 

[emmett16]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Yeah, unclear why it took six months from when they made the original announcement to finally break ground.   But, I’m glad they’ve finally done that.  

Permit issues, supply chain issues, understaffing issues, COVID issues, material availability, material cost volatility, labor availability, "island time" issues, etc.  Like I said in my earlier post, seems like they are right on time.

[sportsfan8703]

Idk, and Idk where even to find this stuff, but how would we rank Elias’ first three J2 signing classes just based on initial rankings. Are we,

2019 - dead last

2020 - dead last

2021 - bottom 5

Accurate or too bearish?  

[Frobby]

29 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Idk, and Idk where even to find this stuff, but how would we rank Elias’ first three J2 signing classes just based on initial rankings. Are we,

2019 - dead last

2020 - dead last

2021 - bottom 5

Accurate or too bearish?  

Inaccurate, because he’s only had two classes - July 2019 and Jan. 2021.

I’d guess first class was close to the bottom, second one maybe bottom third.    But I don’t really track these things.