Next Florida Stadium Saga? Nationals Negotiate Spring Lease

Glenn Miller with Fort Myers' News-Press the Naples Daily News is reporting the Nationals met with Lee County (Fla.) today about a possible move to Fort Myers:

The parties are roughly a third of the way through a 90-day negotiating session that could lead to the Nationals leaving their current spring home in Viera on Florida’s east coast and moving into the facility that once housed the Boston Red Sox. The move could come as soon as 2014.

The last time multiple cities competed for the services of spring training teams, the Cubs got a $99M handout in Mesa, the Red Sox got the beautiful new $77M JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, and the Orioles got a $31M upgrade from Sarasota.

So, regardless of where the Nats end up in the future, I like their chances of getting a subsidized stadium upgrade.

As I wrote two years ago, it's not like any Grapefruit League teams are anxious to leave Florida.