Sarasota County Negotiating with Atlanta Braves Over South County Stadium

Former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones
Image: Djh57/Wikimedia Commons
Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves, Sarasota County government and the developers behind south Sarasota County's West Villages are currently negotiating terms for the funding, design and construction of a spring training campus that would include training facilities, practice fields and a 7,500-seat stadium on between 100 and 150 acres. The Sarasota County Commission on Tuesday authorized County Administrator Thomas Harmer to continue negotiating terms of the deal. The proposed property is located just off U.S. 41 and adjacent to the State College of Florida-Venice campus and a future Sarasota Memorial Hospital 28-acre medical and wellness complex.