Gary Sheffield wants to move Braves spring training to a landfill site

The Braves would be the third team to leave the area if the plan is approved. In addition to the baseball stadium, the complex would have a sport field-house, capable of seating 15,000 fans, and the complex would also have an aquatic center that would contain an olympic-sized pool as well as a hockey rink.

The Atlanta Braves appear to have focused their search for a new spring training facility on a former landfill in Pinellas County, reducing even more the remote chances of the team returning to Palm Beach County.

“So yeah, I have some concerns regarding the impact it could have and the fact that we have had no movement with the council to move the ball forward – to know whether we’re going to need funds for a Rays stadium”, he said.

Councilman Karl Nurse said the proposal reinforces the need to get the Rays discussion off dead center. The team has indicated a “significant interest in exploring a partnership with you, your team and Pinellas County”, according to a letter written by John Schuerholz, the Braves’ president.

“You really don’t want to end up funding a spring training facility for the Atlanta Braves without considering what you’re doing with the Rays and how does this impact them”, he said.

However, as of July 1, 2015, Pinellas County issued a RFN (request for negotiations) to sell or lease the plot of land, spanning 240 acres.

The Atlanta Braves have one year remaining at the Wide World of Sports complex, fueling speculation that the club is, indeed, looking for a change of scenery. The designer, Populous, is the same one who developed the concept for SunTrust Park in Cobb County. Sheffield previously had proposed building a $34 million baseball complex in Pasco County. SportsPark projects that the construction of the new complex could generate over 3,300 new jobs in the area.

Puccini wants to build a solar complex that would produce energy for a development that would include a movie theater, stores, rental homes, retail space and more.

Yesterday, we reported on a proposal that aims to create a sports park in Pinellas County, Florida – one that would also bring the Braves to a new Spring Training home by 2018. The organization is part of a bid to develop a former landfill in Pinellas County into a $660 million stadium complex with hotel and office space. The Toytown landfill has been closed since 1983.