Holy crap. In looking up the latest news about the Orioles home in Ft. Lauderdale and a potential move to Vero Beach, I noticed that I have been blogging about the Baltimore Orioles for exactly one year today. And my first post was regarding the Orioles Spring Training facility in Ft. Lauderdale. Well, it was interesting to me anyway... (See that previous post for a more complete assessment of the Oriole's Spring Training facility)
As that original post highlighted, the club had reached an agreement to stay in Ft. Lauderdale and improve the existing facility. Now, bureaucratic slowdowns have Baltimore eyeing Vero Beach once again.
I have stated this before but I must reiterate that the facility in Ft. Lauderdale is beyond crappy. On top of that, it reeks of Yankee. The Yankees used the facility before 1996 and Angelos and company haven't even given the place a fresh coat of paint in over 10 years. Observe the background of this picture:
Note the Yankee colors still present on the outside of the stadium. The interior (including the seats) are still done in Yankee colors. There is still a Yankees plaque next to the box office! Outrage!
Dodger Town, on the other hand, is beautiful. All you would need is a fresh coat of orange and black and it's ready to go. I hope, I hope. I hope that the O's move north to Vero Beach. It's a great facility and will save me about an hour and a half on the road the next time I go down.
5 comments:
Go Skins! Are you a native of the DC area, or just happen to follow the Skins and O's?
Just wondering. Let's hope we can win Sunday.
With the O's, let's just hope...
We moved to southern Maryland when I was about 10 or 11 (1981) and I was there until I went away to college. Obviously, it was the beginning of the Cal Ripken and Joe Gibbs eras so I was hooked.
The good news for the Skins: Dallas is beat up and has nothing to play for. They almost beat them at full strength but no there will be no T.O., no Romo and they'll probably empty the bench in the second half. Very good shot for Portis and company.
Oh dear. I sure hope they clear up the unsightly traces of the Ys. Nobody wants to see that. :-)
Thanks for the comment on my blog too! :-)
I actually love the Ft. Lauderdale stadium. Sure, give it some orange and black, but I just love how low-tech the place is compared to other spring training stadiums. I love how close to the action the GA seats are, how dismal the scoreboard is, and how high-school the entire complex seems. I've spent some time in Jupiter and Port St. Lucie and I just feel like I'm in a different world there. Ft. Lauderdale to the other places is like Memorial Stadium is to Camden Yards. Keep it simple. Keep the Birds in Ft. Lauderdale. (Plus, the hotels and just about everything else is cheaper in Ft. Lauderdale than most other FL cities.)
By the way, I love the site. I just discovered it this morning.
Bob,
I'll agree with you on actually seeing a game. It's a good stdium for that.
We were there to watch workouts one day and for that it's not great. The fan only has access to the main field inside the stadium, not the fields out back.
Add that to the fact that the minor league camp is way over in Sarasota? It's just a really cheesy setup.
Thanks for the comment,
Heath
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