LEE COUNTY: A Lee County commissioner says the county violated part of its agreement to build the Boston Red Sox a new multi-million dollar stadium. He says one critical component is still missing - the cost.
In an email to the Lee County manager and attorney, Commissioner Brian Bigelow claimed the county breached its contract with the Red Sox by missing a critical money deadline.
"We decided we would have a money figure by the end of 2008. We're into the third month of 2009 and we still don't have it," he said. "This is a big deal. This is the cost element of this huge albatross."
Bigelow, one of two county commissioners who voted against the new stadium, has been seeking a price tag.
So far, county leaders have only estimated that a new stadium will cost between $50-million and $80-million.
According to the agreement with the Red Sox, Lee County should have had a closer than ball-park figure on the project months ago.
"The process has taken a little longer than we all thought," said Lee County spring training consultant John Yarborough.
With four proposed sites still on the shortlist, Yarborough says until the site is chosen - stadium costs are impossible to throw out.
"We can't come up with a budget until we have a design and we can't come up with design until we have the properties," said Yarborough.
"I think we're more focused, frankly, on the milestone deadlines that lie ahead," said Mike Dee of the Boston Red Sox.
He says the Sox plan to move into the new stadium by 2012 and that's the deadline that matters.
"Everything up until that point, we recognize there needs to be some flexibility to work this through," Dee said.
"They stand to gain. We stand to pay, pay, pay," Commissioner Bigelow said.
But the big question remains - how much?
In an email to the Lee County manager and attorney, Commissioner Brian Bigelow claimed the county breached its contract with the Red Sox by missing a critical money deadline.
"We decided we would have a money figure by the end of 2008. We're into the third month of 2009 and we still don't have it," he said. "This is a big deal. This is the cost element of this huge albatross."
Bigelow, one of two county commissioners who voted against the new stadium, has been seeking a price tag.
So far, county leaders have only estimated that a new stadium will cost between $50-million and $80-million.
According to the agreement with the Red Sox, Lee County should have had a closer than ball-park figure on the project months ago.
"The process has taken a little longer than we all thought," said Lee County spring training consultant John Yarborough.
With four proposed sites still on the shortlist, Yarborough says until the site is chosen - stadium costs are impossible to throw out.
"We can't come up with a budget until we have a design and we can't come up with design until we have the properties," said Yarborough.
"I think we're more focused, frankly, on the milestone deadlines that lie ahead," said Mike Dee of the Boston Red Sox.
He says the Sox plan to move into the new stadium by 2012 and that's the deadline that matters.
"Everything up until that point, we recognize there needs to be some flexibility to work this through," Dee said.
"They stand to gain. We stand to pay, pay, pay," Commissioner Bigelow said.
But the big question remains - how much?
