Indian River County, Vero Beach: We’re close to deal with Orioles

Indian River County and Vero Beach officials say they’re close to landing the Baltimore Orioles as a tenant for the now-vacated Dodgertown spring-training complex, and they expect an announcement by the end of this week or next week. Keep in mind they’ve been saying they’re close to a deal with the Orioles for several weeks now, so the real issue is if they’re really close. The deal, as it’s been described to us, involves the lease of the Dodgertown spring-training complex to the Orioles, and the redevelopment of the former golf course next to Dodgertown for use as a Ripken Baseball Academy. What we’ve also been told, however, is that the Orioles are waiting to see what happens with Boston and Fort Myers before making a final decision; indeed, the government entities only recently sent another updated proposal to the Baltimore brain trust. And the continual proclamations by Indian River County and Vero Beach officials about a deal being just around the corner makes one believe the Orioles are taking a wait-and-see attitude.