By Emily Nipps, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
There are indications the minor league Tampa Yankees baseball team could be moving some of its season to Orlando, according to Orlando news reports.
According to one Orlando television news station, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and the owner of the New York Yankees met Tuesday to discuss a plan with a local businessman. Crotty is expected to make a big announcement Thursday and would confirm only that it involved a "famous family" and a local businessman, the station reported.
The Tampa Yankees have had a local presence since the mid 1990s, when they began playing at the University of South Florida when Steinbrenner Field, first called Legends Field, was under construction.
There is no reason to think the move would affect the spring training operations of the New York Yankees.
Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi suggested that a stadium would need to be built to accommodate minor league baseball and it would have to be financed mostly with private funds.
Late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was an influential philanthropist in the area after moving to Tampa in 1973. He died of a heart attack in July at age 80.
A Yankees representative could not be reached early Wednesday morning.