Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 06, 2006
Rebuilding Spring Training

The Orioles spring home in Fort Lauderdale was severly damaged by hurricane Wilma. Rick Maese reports on the process of rebuilding:

"We took such a big hit," says Laura Williams, the team's Fort Lauderdale operations manager. "I don't think we've seen anything like this before."

It's true that the to-do list is still long, with damages estimated at $3 million to $5 million, but team officials here have already done so much. Wilma struck in the morning of Oct. 24. By mid-afternoon, Williams and Robert Dexter, the head groundskeeper, were at the stadium observing what was left.

Debris was scattered across all the fields. Walkways and concourses were turned into jungle areas, with fallen limbs and tree trunks scattered everywhere.

"Wilma was aptly named," Williams says. "It made everything look like Bedrock."

Making matters worse, there was no electricity or phone lines. For a couple of days, Williams worked outside under a hot sun, sitting in a chair next to a pay phone that was 100 yards from the stadium's front gate. She had a box of pertinent files and phone numbers as she dialed up contractor after contractor, knowing full well that spring training wasn't far away.

"Don't worry. By the time the team gets here, everything will look just the way fans remember it," Williams says. "Minus a few trees."



Posted by David Pinto at 07:01 AM | Spring Training | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Who are we kidding? TV doesn't dictate to MLB? With all of the TV revenue they are paying, you better believe they get a say. Without all of the TV money pouring in, the owners wouldn't be lining their pockets to the extent that they are. After watching the Mets spend like lottery winners this offseason, the players are making out like bandits also. Best interests of baseball my ass.

Posted by: Lew at January 6, 2006 10:03 AM

It's amazing how under-reported the Hurricane Wilma damage was in the light of what happened with Hurricane Katrina. Any other year, it'd be top news for month as an entire county (one of the most populous in the State of Florida) was just devastated.

(I used to live in Ft. Lauderdale, and my parents are still there, and still recovering from the storm.)

Posted by: MAW at January 6, 2006 11:58 AM

A semi-related note to this is that the University of Miami was in the middle of some major renovations to their stadium when Wilma hit South Florida. That pushed their schedule back (and they're currently having some difficulty getting their new lighting system approved by the county). One rumor floating around town is that the Canes will play many (if not all) of their early season games in Ft. Lauderdale at the Orioles stadium (as it's the closest reasonably sized stadium - at least that's not being used by FIU). If that happens, they'll have Ft. Lauderdale stadium in order for February.

Posted by: Mike H at January 6, 2006 01:06 PM

Some years ago the Indians' new spring training home in Homestead was supposedly flattened by a hurricane ("supposedly" because no one actually knows where Homestead is, or if such a place actually exists, or existed). The team has been shopping around for a new spring home ever since.

Posted by: Joel J at January 6, 2006 02:55 PM
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