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Sarasota County to analyze funding options to help pay for MLB spring training stadium repairs

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Published  April 24, 2025 10:39am EDT
Sarasota County
FOX 13 News

Stadium funding concerns in Sarasota County

Sarasota County leaders are working to figure out how to pay for future repairs to a pair of MLB Spring Training ballparks: Ed Smith Stadium and CoolToday Park. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports.

The Brief

    • Sarasota County says it doesn’t have enough money in its five-year fund to meet contractual obligations to repair MLB spring training stadiums. 
    • Sarasota County officials say spring training poured over $190 million into the local economy in 2024. 
    • Commissioners recently voted to have county staff analyze the Tourist Development Tax and options to pay for future sports stadium expenses. 

SARASOTA, Fla. - Sarasota County officials say spring training poured over $190 million into the local economy in 2024, but maintaining the two stadiums the MLB uses comes with a hefty price tag, and they don’t have enough in their five-year fund to meet their contractual obligations to make those repairs. 

By the numbers:

Staff told county commissioners on Wednesday that, based on facility condition assessments for the two stadiums, and the money they expect from the Tourist Development Tax that helps pay for the repairs to the stadiums, they could be more than $8 million in the red by fiscal year 2030.

Pictured: Ed Smith Stadium.

At Ed Smith Stadium, where the Baltimore Orioles play, the county is 100 percent responsible for the repairs. A facility condition assessment found necessary repairs over the next five years will cost more than $24.7 million. It opened in 1989 and is also currently undergoing renovations for its HVAC system which totals $11.5 million. 

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The Atlanta Braves play in CoolToday Park, which opened in 2019, but they too have recommended repairs. The Braves and the county can negotiate capital repair costs more than $174,000 there. 

Pictured: CoolToday Park.

Pictured: CoolToday Park.

What they're saying:

"We don't want to be in the place that we are today with significant repair and replacement that's needed and not the funding available to do it," Nicole Rissler, Director of Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources told commissioners Wednesday. "So, it is staff's recommendation that we start putting money aside for those larger repairs and replacement for the Braves and CoolToday Stadium for the future," she said.

The commissioners voted to have county staff analyze the Tourist Development Tax and options to pay for future sports stadium expenses. 

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"For a long time, we've kind of deferred maintenance and it's catching up and we've got to make sure we get ahead of it," Commissioner Ron Cutsinger said. "I think this is a lot better way to look at it and also pre-funding some of those that we know are coming, so we're not in the same situation trying to figure out how we're going to pay for these things. So, absolutely I'd like to see this move forward and come back with some options for us," he said.

What's next:

Staff will bring those to commissioners for them to start sorting out as soon as next month.

The Source: This story was written with information gathered by FOX 13's Kailey Tracy. 

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