Cleared for Takeoff

Fort Myers wooed the Boston Red Sox from Winter Haven in 1993 with a $24 million stadium built with money raised from selling municipal bonds. The city pays $1.7 million a year on the debt with interest, though it gets only $210,000 in rent, $110,000 in ticket surcharges, and $50,000 in parking fees. Other cities and counties have passed new taxes on services used mostly by tourists to pay for debt payments, but Broward County already raised its tourist tax on hotels from three to five cents in 1996 to pay for the new Panther Arena in Sunrise and is unlikely to do it again.

As bleak as the outlook is, the two bills are Fort Lauderdale's last hope to hold on to spring training. Without the state money, Fort Lauderdale will remain as it is, a relic of yesteryear.

"The industry has evolved into Legends Field," Horrow says. "It remains to be seen how the existing infrastructure can compete."

Without minor-league practice fields, new skyboxes, and bigger offices and clubhouses, Fort Lauderdale Stadium won't be able to compete. But, for the time being, the Orioles will have to settle for the $50,000 to $100,000 the city spends to maintain the place. This year, in preparation for the Orioles' arrival, the field and surrounding grounds were spruced up, the lights were inspected, the dim bulbs replaced, and a new coat of paint was applied to the seats, dugouts, and outfield fence. And -- oh, yeah -- the grease traps in the concessions areas and the drains in the bathrooms were flushed.