Dunedin has been the Blue Jays spring training home since its expansion year of 1977. (Image from @diamondperday)
The National Post spoke to Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro about his desire to upgrade the team's spring training facilities. The team's lease with Dunedin expires at the end of 2017.
Dunedin has been the Blue Jays spring training home since its expansion year of 1977. (Image from @diamondperday)
The article notes Cleveland moved its spring training operations from Winter Haven, Florida to Goodyear, Arizona in 2009 under Shapiro's watch and seems to suggest a move from Dunedin is possible.
Over the past year, outgoing Jays president Paul Beeston worked on a possible move to Palm Beach, Fla. That plan fell through. Subsequent negotiations to find a Dunedin solution remain unresolved. Given Shapiro’s wish list and his experience in Cleveland, it seems fair to say he will not bring a Dunedin bias to the table.Where will the Jays wind up in March of 2018? Somewhere else in Florida? A new location in Arizona? Will they be a sharing a new facility with another team? It would be a sad day if the club leaves the site of its very first game as a franchise when they beat the New York Mets 3-1 in its Spring Training debut on March 11, 1977.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20151105121916293