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July 9, 2008
keeping hope alive
I have to admire the persistence of those who wish to bring the Red Sox to Sarasota. The organizers have now unveiled a three-part plan that makes the Marshall Plan seem simple in comparison. It involves swapping land, paying off the fair organizers, and creating peace in the Middle East. Well, the last part isn't true, but it seems to me that maybe the Citizens for Sox should be more ambitious. If they can lure the third most valuable baseball franchise to Sarasota, maybe we can make other dreams come true.
The separate but somewhat overlapping proposals put forth by city and county officials call for a complicated three-way land deal that would move the county fair to Twin Lakes Park, build a stadium and practice fields for the Red Sox at the current site of the fair and turn the land that Ed Smith Stadium sits on into a regional park.According to the article the feasibility study comes out this week. I expect this paid promotional fantasy study to show that Sarasota will never be hit by hurricanes, that the sea will turn into cash, and that we can pay for the Red Sox with unused oranges. I'm so happy our tax dollars are being used for this study. Sure, it costs thousands of dollars and it's true the voters have already spoken on this issue, but think about it... a market economy based solely on the currency of oranges.
The county proposal further sweetens the deal for the Sarasota County Fair Board, which manages the annual county fair and controls the land it sits on, by offering the board $12 million up front to help pay for sewer lines and new buildings at the Twin Lakes site and $100,000 a year for a decade for operating costs.
Elsie Souza, who heads the grass-roots Citizens for Sox, said the triple-land switch is a complicated concept, but it is one she hopes works out. "I give a lot of credit to the people who sat down and put it together," Souza said. "People will say, 'Where is the money coming from?' Well, if we want the Red Sox to come here, and we understand what that brand means, we have to find a way to make it happen."
What does the brand mean, exactly? And, if people ask, "Where is the money coming from?" how does saying, "we understand what that brand means" answer the question? Have I inadvertently stumbled into a paradox? Are the answers for all of life's complicated questions found in the Red Sox brand? Are the voters of Sarasota aware that the fountain of understanding can be found in March just a short drive south to Fort Myers. Perhaps city organizers should scrap this plan and build a temple to Red Sox right in the center of St. Armands Circle! Or, even better, we can raise a new key out of the Gulf in the shape of the letter B. Red Sox Key fans from all across the country can come to worship the brand. We'll build the Carl Yastrzemski bridge to the key. People from all over the world can worship at the alter of Fenway Park South. We can serve them orange juice, if we only dare to dream.
Posted by nemov at July 9, 2008 12:13 PM
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