On Thursday April 2 I had the opportunity to watch the Cincinnati Reds play their last spring training game in Sarasota. The stadium was about half full. Most feasibility studies fail to account for days like that. A half full stadium is a great reminder of why it’s insane for cities to subsidize sports clubs. I love baseball, but it’s not the draw it used to be, especially for spring training. Sure it cool to see major league players. I loved watching the Braves play the Pirates in Bradenton this year, but I don’t remember anything from the game (Chipper hit a home run). The games are rather pointless.
There are only a few teams available who can consistently sell out spring training games and the cost to bring those teams it is too expensive. Before the game a few city council members took the field to pat themselves on the back for “trying” to keep the Reds in town. It was the usual suspects of incompetent city planners. Everything was going well until faux mayor Lou Ann Palmer grabbed the mic.
Sarasota mayor Lou Ann Palmer was on hand to address spectators prior to the game. But she was interupted by repeated booing. “I’m glad so many of you are angry,” said Palmer, wearing a red shirt and red hoop earrings, “because I’m angry that the Reds are leaving, too. “We feel exactly the same way.” But it was evident that many in the crowd did not think the City of Sarasota did enough to make sure the team would not leave.
The mayor was angry and eventually ended up in tears. Someone in the crowd yelled “shut up” a few times. That’s got to be a real confident boost for the council. The city commissioners presented the Reds with a key to the city. I wonder how many feasibility studies had to be commissioned to figure out if that was a good idea. The only reason these people keep their jobs is because the city boundaries are drawn to protect the status quo. The city commissioners got booed for a good ten minutes. The pointless rotating mayor tried to calm the crowd, but she only made things worse. The mob was angry and they have a right to be… these commissioners are a joke.
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