If the Sarasota, Fla., city and county politicians were wise, they would have been in the Charlotte County Sports Complex Wednesday to see how they tripped over their ignorance.
But we already know that they are not wise men and wear dunce caps instead of Baseball caps. The Charlotte County Sports Complex isn't like an elderly painted lady. They fixed this place up so that it almost looks reborn. They just didn't put some paint here and a few bricks there. They did it right, the way it could have been done for the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota.
The Tampa Bay Rays and Charlotte County put $26 million into the place that has been empty for seven years. When the Texas Rangers abandoned it, the place was one step above a toxic waste dump. Now it is state-ofthe-art, a Baseball mansion.
And to think, with a little forethought and vision, the City of Sarasota and Sarasota County could have done the same thing at Ed Smith Stadium for the Reds and the Reds would be there for the next 30 years.
Instead, the Reds leave for Arizona (as the Rangers did seven years ago) next year, leaving Ed Smith and its shabbiness and smelliness to sit idle, probably for several years.
Also gone will be an estimated $50 million that the Reds brought each spring to the Sarasota economy.
Contact this reporter at hmccoy@daytondailynews.com
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