David Moulton: The opportunity is still there, so why give up on spring training in Naples?

David Moulton

I hadn’t thought about it since election night. But as the guest speaker at a small luncheon in Naples this week, “it” was just about all anyone wanted to talk to me about.

Spring training baseball and Naples.

A year ago this past week, the Cubs had indicated privately and began to leak publicly that they were going to move their spring training games and year-round baseball operations to Naples.

Then commissioner Bud Selig stepped in, and we all know how that turned out.

But a year later what struck me was a show of hands at the luncheon. When I asked, “If the only tax money used was a bed-tax increase, do you want spring training baseball in Naples?”

More than 90 percent of the room raised their hands.

My, what a difference a year made. Maybe it’s the continued economic climate. Maybe it’s a change of heart in the aftermath of the Jackson Lab saga. But now the idea of spring training baseball in Naples seems to be looked upon much more favorably than it was when I proposed it nearly two years ago, or when it nearly became reality a year ago.

So does anyone want to try and make this happen? Again.

Or is one shot all we had in us? We lost out on the pot of gold and we can’t handle the rejection?

If it’s baseball you want, you can get it. In 2008 there were six teams that held spring training along the east coast of Florida. Two have already left (Dodgers and Orioles). The Washington Nationals are likely to announce that they are leaving within the year.

That leaves the Mets, Cardinals and Marlins at least two hours away from anyone else in the Grapefruit League. Which translated means, “open to moving.”

What if Collier County joined forces with the Lee County Sports Authority in going after these three teams? Remember, Lee County has an empty City of Palms Park staring at it beginning in 2012 unless the county find a tenant. Lee officials have plenty of motivation to team up.

Why couldn’t Lee County grab the Marlins while Collier County builds a sports complex for the Mets and Cardinals? In 1998, a state-of-the-art, $28 million complex was built in Jupiter for the Cardinals and Marlins. The Cards shared a complex with the Mets from 1962-87. In other words, you can work with this franchise. One that on and off the field doesn’t take a backseat to many franchises not named the New York Yankees.

Why not the Nationals to downtown Fort Myers (they toured the facilities last April) while Naples grabs the Mets? Any combination is possible. The west coast of Florida is far more desirable than the east coast for spring training baseball. The Orioles moved from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota last year and saw a 39 percent increase in attendance.

Fifth Avenue Advisors did all the ground work on what it would cost, take and what the economic benefits would be if Naples were to become home to spring training baseball. What would happen if at a press conference Tuesday someone from Collier County announced to anyone who would listen, “Here’s our number and to the first team or teams that call, we will build for you what we were going to build for the Cubs.”

The phone would ring off the hook for the rest of the week.

Remember my idea to bring the Cubs to Naples was not for the sports but the economy. Unless I’ve missed something, are things so much better in January 2011 than April 2009? Is Collier County still not debating ways to diversify its economy?

Forgive me, but it seems like such a waste that all the creative energy that was used in nearly bringing the Cubs to Naples has vanished into thin air.

Why not spring training in Naples?

Why not sports as part of the economic revival of Collier County?

Why have we quit trying?