Palm Beach County joins West Palm Beach in approving land swap for new spring training facility (with teams' statement)

Palm Beach County commissioners voted 6-1 this morning to OK a land swap with the City of West Palm Beach and the conceptual plan for a new spring training complex in West Palm Beach that would be shared by the Astros and Nationals.

The move means the teams will move a step closer to building a new spring training facility on 160 acres at the southeast corner of Haverhill Road and 45th Street on the site of a former landfill. In exchange for the city-owned parcel, West Palm Beach will receive 1.8 acres of county-owned land in the city. On Monday night, the West Palm Beach City Commission approved a non-binding agreement for the land swap.

Representing the Nationals at the meeting this morning, Art Fuccillo thanked the county for working with both the city and the teams to bring the project a step closer to becoming a reality.

"This is a special thank you to all of you for saving baseball in south Florida," Fuccillo said.

The Nationals would move from their current spring base at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, while the Astros would relocate from their present complex in Kissimmee. It is hoped that construction of the $135 million facility will commence soon enough for the teams to debut at the new stadium for Grapefruit League games in 2017.

Completion of the West Palm Beach complex would mean there would be four major league teams conducting spring training within a 20-minute drive of one another. The Marlins and Cardinals share Roger Dean Stadium and an adjacent complex in nearby Jupiter. Had the Nationals departed Viera, out clauses in the contracts of the Cardinals, Marlins and Mets in Port St. Lucie would have allowed those clubs to escape their deals, possibly ending spring training on Florida's east coast.

The Nationals have long sought to find a home closer to other teams, cutting down on lengthy trips to away games on their Grapefruit League schedule. Their shortest trip is currently a 75-minute one-way trek to Kissimmee, where the Astros play, and most of their trips are well over an hour one way.

Washington previously sought to move to Fort Myers, where the Nats would have taken over the former Red Sox complex at City of Palms Park to join the Red Sox and Twins in the southwest Florida city. The Nats also tried to work out a deal with Osceola County for a new facility in Kissimmee they would have shared with the Astros. But both of those projects failed to materialize after lengthy negotiations. The Nationals ownership group has also considered moving spring operations to Arizona, but maintained it would prefer to hold spring camp in Florida, which is closer to the fan base in D.C.

Palm Beach County has been trying for several years to lure another pair of teams to ensure the continuation of spring training games on the state's eastern coast. But a planned shared facility in Palm Beach Gardens that would have housed the Astros and Blue Jays, who would have moved from Dunedin on the west coast, failed to come to fruition two years ago. The Blue Jays remain in Dunedin and the Astros continued to look for a new home and a team to share it with.

The Nationals and Astros estimate that their new facility could be worth $100 million in economic impact to the area.

Today's vote by the Palm Beach County commissioners approves development of the two-team facility, authorizes the county to commence negotiations on an interlocal agreement with the City of West Palm Beach and allows negotiations with both developers and the teams on a facility use agreement. An easement that will protect the city's water supply still needs to work its way through the state legislature.

Update: Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner and Astros owner Jim Crane have issued the following joint statement: "We are pleased that the Board of Commissioners for both West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County have approved the agreement to trade land allowing future construction of a joint spring training facility for the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. We would like to thank both the city and the county staff, the Palm Beach Sports Commission and the Economic Development Council for all of their hard work. The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros look forward to calling Palm Beach County home for the next 30 years."