Is MLB interested in central Florida?
The people who want to bring Major League Baseball to central Florida are adjusting their finances and now need an additional $300 million to build an MLB state-of-the-art facility. The people who want to see the Orlando Dreamers become a reality originally thought that the proposed 45,000-seat stadium would cost nearly $1.7 billion but with inflation, tariffs and a trade war, the Dreamers investors now need about $2 billion and have a question. Where are we going to get that $300 million? Jim Schnorf, co-founder and CFO of Orlando City Baseball Dreamers LLC, told the Orlando Business Journal. “We tried to be proactive in our estimates, allowing for some unknown contingency cost increases with design changes, etc. As of today, that figure could be slightly higher, and we suspect could be in the $2 billion range by the time construction would start.”
The Dreamers’ group does not seem to have put its plan in front of Orlando, central Florida and state politicians yet. The Dreamers’ group wants to build the ballpark on a 35.5-acre site owned by Orange County, located next to SeaWorld’s Aquatica water park. Schnorf said that his group has looked at other locations both within and outside Orange County but the group thinks that area would be best for the proposed stadium. Schnorf and his backers claim they have $1.5 billion in financial commitments to buy a franchise and that might not be enough to get a team. The group has another $1 billion set aside for stadium construction and that means someone needs to come up with another billion. Dr. Rick Workman, founder of Heartland Dental, is the Dreamers’ group lead investor. Morgan and Morgan law firm founder John Morgan is willing to spend as much as $250 million to help the venture. There is no indication MLB is interested in central Florida.
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Proposed Orlando stadium
