Milwaukee to move Spring Operations to Florida? (Melvin denies)

[SeriesFinale]

"remember, WI folks retire generally to AZ, not FLA. "

 

Is there proof of this somewhere? There are a lot of Packer fans everywhere (Remember "Lambeau South"?)

[sbrylski]

remember, WI folks retire generally to AZ, not FLA. Lots of Packers fans here. Chase field usually has huge brewers contingents

 

Wrong, according to this article in Milwaukee Magazine (dated 3/1/2008):

 

Among Wisconsinites ages 60 and older who move to other states, the most popular destinations are Florida (23 percent) and Arizona (14 percent), with Illinois, Minnesota and Texas next, but well behind. The top states sending retirees to Wisconsin include: Illinois (30 percent) and Minnesota (14 percent), followed by Florida, Michigan, Arizona and California.

[twobrewers]

Just got back from spring training...

 

Maryville is a great complex. I saw the March 6th game against the Mariners. The Mariners sent their B squad - and the Brewers pulled in around 3000.

 

The biggest problem with the Maryville complex is the location. It is very much hidden. It is in a poor neighborhood. But the biggest problem is that it is too far from retirees.

 

Most of the retirement communities are located south and east of Phoenix. Maryville is northwest. If the park was located in Mesa, I believe the attendance would improve significantly.

[Blazer25]

I'm not sure if there are any teams that house both a rookie team and a Florida State League team in the same stadium, as that would be rather tough to manage.

Colby,

 

GCL teams typically play all of their games on "practice fields" at the spring training complex. They typically use the field that the big leaguers would work-out on during ST.

 

I think it's a rareity that rookie GCL teams ever play in a "stadium". It's really baseball at its most base level. It almost feels like you're watching a scrimmage.

 

 

If they do move I hope it is to the Fort Myers area.

Logan,

 

Although not impossible, the fact that there are already 2 teams that use Ft Myers as a home base (Twins and Red Sox) would seem to indicate Milwaukee going elsewhere.

[Madtown Bomber]

The reason I like Tom Haudricourt is he always returns emails. I just checked my email and he responded by saying that he has heard some talk about moving but he couldn't imagine them leaving the complex in Phoenix.

 

I am just glad he confirmed that I wasn't nuts and there is actual talk about it.

 

Let the true debate begin. I hope he or somebody can get a fair answer from a member of the Brewers staff.

[logan82]

Blazer25 wrote:

Although not impossible, the fact that there are already 2 teams that use Ft Myers as a home base (Twins and Red Sox) would seem to indicate Milwaukee going elsewhere.

Yeah I know. It is a pretty popular vacation area.

[phxMILWfan]

Just got back from spring training...

 

Maryville is a great complex. I saw the March 6th game against the Mariners. The Mariners sent their B squad - and the Brewers pulled in around 3000.

 

The biggest problem with the Maryville complex is the location. It is very much hidden. It is in a poor neighborhood. But the biggest problem is that it is too far from retirees.

 

Most of the retirement communities are located south and east of Phoenix. Maryville is northwest. If the park was located in Mesa, I believe the attendance would improve significantly.

 

This is untrue. The retirement communities are mostly west of Phoenix. There are others through out the valley but the biggest area for retirees is Sun City as well as Surprise. Maryvale is about 20 to 25 minutes from there and being that I live in Phoenix, EVERYTHING is 20 to 25 minutes away at a minimum. The fact that the Brewers are in Maryvale and that it is a rougher neighborhood is some of the problem with attendance but the biggest problem with attendance is that for years the Brewers haven't been good. Of all the teams in the cactus league, and there are 12, the Brewers have advertised more than anyone this year. The local AM 620 espn radio only advertises for the Brewers. The team is a hit in the hispanic community for the Chorizo sausage, Cervecero's Day, and inexpensive tickets. No other team will give you a t-shirt, ticket, and Miller Lite for $20 and I believe that is something that started when Attanasio came in. In Arizona non-Diamondback fans are usually Dodgers, Cubs, and Brewers fans in that order. Moving to Florida would be a big mistake not because of the teams Wisconsin based fans but because they have converted a good number of Arizonans to being Brewers fans. I've been to no less than 8 spring training games a year for the last 7 years and let me just tell you that because half of the teams spring games are road games it doesn't matter what the attendance is like. Attendance at home games is largely based on their opponent as well. A lot of stadiums because they are so close to each other have split fan bases like little league games. When the Cubs or Diamondbacks come to Maryvale it fills up. When the Rockies or White Sox come to Maryvale it's a sparse crowd.

[homer]

Having lived in the PHX area for four years I concur with phxMILWfan on the location of retirement communities. Sun City is traditionally one of the biggest ones and that's on the far northwest side of town. I moved away about five years ago, but even then people would ask "Isn't Phoenix filled with old people?". No it's not. It's one of the fastest growing cities in the US with a growing nucleus of young people - I think Scottsdale opened about 10 bars and nightclubs in the time I lived there. And the Maryvale neighborhood gets a bad rap, but it's not all that awful. It's not like you have to worry about your safety walking from your car to the game, or getting carjacked or anything. It's a little rundown and largely latino so maybe there's more perceived badness than reality can justify. It is not the worst neighborhood in Phoenix by any means. I think part of the drawback for attendance is there's nothing else to do around the ballpark. San Francisco is right in Old Town Scottsdale, The Mariners/Padres complex is next to a huge shopping area, Oakland is very close to downtown Tempe (although that stadium has probably seen it's better days), The Angels complex is very close to I-10, etc. The Cubs complex isn't really near anything but it's the Cubs and they'll draw anywhere. When I lived in PHX, I always meant to go to 8 - 10 games and was lucky to see 1 - 2 - it just wasn't convenient for me.

[1992casey]

The Brewers used to train in Sun City, and I wonder if one of the reasons they left was that the retirement crowd wasn't a demographic that showed up at games. Of course, like all spring training facilities, the one at Sun City would have gotten old just like any other would.

[pebadger]

The Brewers used to train in Sun City, and I wonder if one of the reasons they left was that the retirement crowd wasn't a demographic that showed up at games.

Maybe they should package game tickets with an early-bird dinner special.

[Madtown Bomber]

Not to beat a dead horse but Fox Sports Radio said tonight the Houston Astros are close to an agreement to leave Florida for Arizona in 2010. This would mean a team from Arizona would have to come over to Florida so that there is a even split in both locations. The only team from Arizona that would make sense to leave Arizona would be Milwaukee as I doubt any West Coast teams would come across country for Spring Training and the White Sox, Royals, Indians and Rangers are all getting or just got new facilities.

[AZBrewCrew]

they just need to play all their games against the Cubs. There were 8000 in attendance at the game today.

[TooLiveBrew]

And the Maryvale neighborhood gets a bad rap, but it's not all that awful. It's not like you have to worry about your safety walking from your car to the game, or getting carjacked or anything. It's a little rundown and largely latino so maybe there's more perceived badness than reality can justify. It is not the worst neighborhood in Phoenix by any means.

 

Amen to this. To describe the area in which Maryvale sits as a 'bad neighborhood' just gives all the wrong impressions. It's 'No Starbucks/Gap/Barnes & Noble' bad, not 'Get your car jacked at gunpoint by some minority... RUN WHITE PEOPLE!' bad. In terms of user-friendliness, I'd rate Maryvale atop or near the top of the AZ spring training facilities. Once you park, you don't have to worry about anything else for the game - it's all right there, but you're off in your own little ST baseball world... removed from the 'real world'

[JimH5]

I've been to Spring Training games in Florida.

 

I LOVE Dodgertown in Vero Beach. I can't see why any team wouldn't jump at the chance to take over that historic wonderful place. Admittedly I know nothing about the team facilities or practice fields, tax situation, etc. . . but the actual Holman Stadium facility and the loyal fan base makes it a terrific place to see a Spring Training game.

 

In the same vain, the Kissimmee facility is really nice. They made significant improvements to the place about 4 or 5 years ago, and it's first rate. Lots to do in the area, and a lot of people within a 15 minute drive to visit the stadium. Lots of parking, etc. Very nice.

 

And while I enjoyed visiting the Chain-of-Lakes stadium that the Indians played at, I can understand why they left. The game park is historic and cool, but it's kind of landlocked, with other stuff seemingly all around it. There doesn't seem to be any room to expand the facilities.

 

I've never been to Spring Training in Arizona, so I can't speak on which is better--but if the Brewers wanted to leave Maryvale for either Vero Beach or Kissimmee, they would have fine facilities.

[Patrick425]

Not to beat a dead horse but Fox Sports Radio said tonight the Houston Astros are close to an agreement to leave Florida for Arizona in 2010. This would mean a team from Arizona would have to come over to Florida so that there is a even split in both locations.

Not necessarily. They had a guy on XM the other day that was either the president or vice president of the Cactus League. He was talking about possible teams coming over from Florida. The possibility of having an odd number of teams was brought up. He mentioned, that while it's not the ideal situation, it's managable. It would mean that each day at least one team would have to play a split squad game.

[brewmann04]

the cubs announcer yesterday mentioned the brewers have a lease to 2012 is that correct.

[RightFieldCoder]

This would mean a team from Arizona would have to come over to Florida so that there is a even split in both locations. The only team from Arizona that would make sense to leave Arizona would be Milwaukee as I doubt any West Coast teams would come across country for Spring Training and the White Sox, Royals, Indians and Rangers are all getting or just got new facilities.

The Cubs would be in the same boat as the Brewers then. But with the Astros moving it would make 13 in the CL and 17 in the GL. Maybe we could swing another midwest team to the CL (StL, Pit, Cin, Det)

[Madtown Bomber]

the cubs announcer yesterday mentioned the brewers have a lease to 2012 is that correct.

Technically correct but the team as a opt out clause in 2010 as it did before this past season. I don't know what the conditions of opting out are but it is there.

 

 

This would mean a team from Arizona would have to come over to Florida so that there is a even split in both locations. The only team from Arizona that would make sense to leave Arizona would be Milwaukee as I doubt any West Coast teams would come across country for Spring Training and the White Sox, Royals, Indians and Rangers are all getting or just got new facilities.

The Cubs would be in the same boat as the Brewers then. But with the Astros moving it would make 13 in the CL and 17 in the GL. Maybe we could swing another midwest team to the CL (StL, Pit, Cin, Det)

Wrong...

 

1. Atlanta Braves: Lake Buena Vista
2. Baltimore Orioles: Ft. Lauderdale
3. Boston Red Sox: Fort Myers
4. Cincinnati Reds: Sarasota
5. Detroit Tigers: Lakeland
6. Florida Marlins: Jupiter
7. Houston Astros: Kissimmee
8. Minnesota Twins: Ft. Myers
9. New York Mets: Port St. Lucie
10. New York Yankees: Tampa
11. Philadelphia Phillies: Clearwater
12. Pittsburgh Pirates: Bradenton
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Jupiter
14. Tampa Bay Rays: Port Charlotte
15. Toronto Blue Jays: Dunedin
16. Washington Nationals: Viera

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: Tucson
2. Chicago Cubs: Mesa
3. Chicago White Sox: Tucson
4. Cleveland Indians: Goodyear
5. Colorado Rockies: Tucson
6. Kansas City Royals: Surprise
7. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Tempe
8. Los Angeles Dodgers: Glendale
9. Milwaukee Brewers: Maryvale
10. Oakland Athletics: Phoenix
11. San Diego Padres: Peoria
12. San Francisco Giants: Scottsdale
13. Seattle Mariners: Peoria
14. Texas Rangers: Surprise

That is as close to a split you will get without going odd.

I've been to Spring Training games in Florida.

 

I LOVE Dodgertown in Vero Beach. I can't see why any team wouldn't jump at the chance to take over that historic wonderful place. Admittedly I know nothing about the team facilities or practice fields, tax situation, etc. . . but the actual Holman Stadium facility and the loyal fan base makes it a terrific place to see a Spring Training game.

 

In the same vain, the Kissimmee facility is really nice. They made significant improvements to the place about 4 or 5 years ago, and it's first rate. Lots to do in the area, and a lot of people within a 15 minute drive to visit the stadium. Lots of parking, etc. Very nice.

 

And while I enjoyed visiting the Chain-of-Lakes stadium that the Indians played at, I can understand why they left. The game park is historic and cool, but it's kind of landlocked, with other stuff seemingly all around it. There doesn't seem to be any room to expand the facilities.

 

I've never been to Spring Training in Arizona, so I can't speak on which is better--but if the Brewers wanted to leave Maryvale for either Vero Beach or Kissimmee, they would have fine facilities.

The Dodgertown facility needs improvement. The Kissimmee location only holds about 5000 and is a few miles from Atlanta complex at Disney. Plus the Kissimmee location has really gotten involved in holding more amature events as of late plus the umpire academy is there.

 

The thing is that if MLB is involved like reported and Auburndale is going to be putting up a stadium then there will be a team moving there. Who is to be debated but I doubt they would build a complex to remain empty.

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Looks like Cincinnati may be heading from Florida to Arizona, sharing a yet-to-be-built complex with Cleveland. That would put 15 in each Spring Training League.

Cincinnati Enquirer Story on Reds Nearing Deal to Florida

 

"Indeed, it was Sarasota's inability to secure funding for improvements to Ed Smith Stadium that pushed the Reds toward Arizona."

 

Ballpark Watch is repeating the rumor of Milwaukee's potential relocation.

Ballpark Watch's March 13 Report

 

"Milwaukee's limited interest was curious: true, Sarasota is much closer to Milwaukee -- by more than 500 miles. And Maryvale Baseball Park is a plain-jane facility with limited revenue potential, to say the least. In a sense, Milwaukee's presence in Arizona is more a series of quirks and inertia than anything else: the Seattle Pilots trained there for obvious reasons, and when Bud Selig's group plucked the team from bankruptcy court the team was in the midst of spring practices. Selig wintered in Arizona; hence the team's continued presence there. Still, the move of either team to Sarasota would be a long shot."

 

Sarasota Newspaper suggests a possible Milwaukee relocation or a move of Baltimore to fill the vacancy created by Cincinnati.

Herald Tribune Story Discussing Future of Sarasota Site

 

"Calhoon said he has surveyed the landscape in Arizona and Florida and only found a couple of teams with even a remote interest in moving. The Milwaukee Brewers, because of their midwest home base, might be willing to relocate from Arizona, he said. But the team has a newly renovated stadium in Maryvale, Ariz."

So apparently, there is more than a bit of smoke. Perhaps there actually is fire in this rumor.

[82brewcrew]

My sister lives in the Tampa area and they are hearing rumors about the Crew going to Florida as well.

[BillyRed]

Having just returned from Maryvale I would be disappointed if they moved to Florida. There are so many teams so close to Maryvale it was fun to check out 4 games in 3 days at 3 different parks.

 

Florida is more spread out. And with relatives in AZ, I certainly hope they stay there.

[elbobbo82]

I doubt there is a whole lot a validity to this, since the trend is definitely TOWARD AZ and not vice versa, but I'd love to see it since my in-laws have a place in Sarasota and I'd be there every year for spring training

[Madtown Bomber]

The last thing I heard now was that Houston may move down I-4 to Haines City to the old Kansas City complex that is going to be renevated. But if Cincinnati does indeed move that opens up that chance. I think if any team were to leave Arizona it would indeed be Milwaukee. Jim Powell said over the weekend if Doug Melvin had his was it would be in Florida.

[SeriesFinale]

There are so many teams so close to Maryvale it was fun to check out 4 games in 3 days at 3 different parks.

 

From Sarasota you can easily check out games in Bradenton, St. Pete, Clearwater and Tampa. Dundein and Lakeland are just slightly further afield. And you can take an afternoon and head down to Ft. Meyers or the Orlando area...the Atlantic coast isn't all that far, either. I don't believe the teams are as compactly close as they are in Arizona, but the idea that they're too spread out is a myth.

 

Anyay, I grew up a Brewers fan in Sarasota and I still have a lot of family there. Needless to say I'm excited by the concept of them heading there.

[DHonks]

once again, remember that folks that retire from Wisconsin tend to move to AZ. Folks from New England tend to retire to FLA. Frankly, there's so many here w/Milwaukee connections that it'd hurt their attendence