Championship PARK is Dead

The controversial vote on Championship Park came and went. The Hillsborough County commission voted unanimously, including Norman, to kill Championship Park and use the $40 million for other projects. Norman saw how the political tides have turned and voted against his own pet project. Ouch.

It's bad when Plant City Mayor Rick Lott backed away from his own proposal.

"I would be hard-pressed to ask you to approve this park today."

Norman got snappy at the other commissioners for backing projects he also supported in the past.

"People from Idaho are not going to come here and go to the aquarium, but they'll come here for a ballgame," Norman said.

People are not going to come from Idaho to watch little league baseball and soccer games in Plant City. I'm willing to bet very few Idaho residents visit the Strawberry Festival. It never made sense to build the park in Plant City.

"I fail to see how teams are going to drive 45 minutes or longer to go to a game," Commissioner Ken Hagan said.

What hurt Norman was Wayne Garcia's Creative Loafing article. The timing of the article and the Florida legislature's special session to cut the budget was fatal to Championship Park. I say good riddance.

Field of Bad Dreams

Wayne Garcia appears on the never-watched Tampa Bay's Media Talk to discuss Jim Norman's $40 million pork project. Who really needs a sports arena around the Plant City area?

A point I disagree with Garcia is I don't see a glorified little league sports facility making a profit. I have written about how sports venues are a drain to tax dollars.

Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder made a great comment to Ronda Storms.

Dingfelder: I'll tell you what's ironic. You know what's ironic is for us to call (the streetcar) a boondoggle when you guys (the County Commission) vote on a $40 million sports complex out there. That's the biggest bonndoggle I've ever read about in the newspaper, and you voted for that, I'll remind you.

Yes, it is.