Pat Williams simply will not let his dream die.
Nor his Dreamers.
Williams — one of the two most important figures in bringing big-time professional sports to Central Florida all those years ago when he and local businessman and power broker Jimmy Hewitt co-founded the Orlando Magic — has been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) for four years to drum up interest in bringing a Major League Baseball team to town.
Sadly, it’s looking more and more like Williams’ proposed team — the Orlando Dreamers — is on the verge of becoming Pat’s Pipe Dreamers.
Unless Williams can pull off one of his miracles like he did nearly four decades ago when he persuaded the NBA to put a franchise in a no-horse sports town; or unless he can conjure up one of those mythical ping-pong balls like he did when the Magic miraculously won back-to-back NBA lotteries that resulted in Shaq and Penny; or unless the Tampa Bay Rays suddenly announce they want to move to Orlando, then Williams’ baseball effort is all but dead.
Williams, as is his nature, refuses to lose hope and instead quotes the late, great Winston Churchill.
“This is not the beginning of the end, but it’s the end of the beginning,” Williams says. “This isn’t doomsday. We’ve just finished the first chapter.”
Hail to local journalists who uncovered Northwestern hazing, put Larry Nassar in prison | Commentary
Williams, who has written more than 100 inspirational books and is a renowned motivational speaker, is inherently positive, but it sure seems like it’s time to put a toe tag on his Orlando Dreamers. Williams’ proposed domed baseball stadium did not make the cut recently when a task force created to recommend how Orange County should spend its globs of future tourist-tax revenue sent forward five proposed projects — (1) Another convention center expansion; (2) A plan to add seats and a canopy roof to Camping World Stadium; (3) A renovation of Amway Center; (4) A makeover of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts; (5) Funding for UCF’s proposed sports village.
Williams optimistically points out that the task force is only making recommendations and that the six Orange County commissioners ultimately will make the decision on how to spend the money. He’s technically right, but nobody actually believes the commissioners are going to overrule the task force and suddenly commit nearly a billion dollars to someday building a baseball stadium.
I admittedly have been passionately on board Williams’ baseball bandwagon, but I certainly understand why the task force didn’t approve a plan to commit a billion dollars to the baseball stadium if by chance Williams could land a team. Realistically, you can’t expect the county to simply set aside a billion dollars and wait for something that might not happen; not when you have other politically driven entities (see convention center) making their pitches for the money and other influential voices (like Sentinel colleague Scott Maxwell and the Sentinel editorial board) who rightfully want a state law changed so that tourist-tax revenue can be spent on community needs (see transportation and affordable housing initiatives) that are more important than sports venues.
The problem with Williams’ plan is there is no team or timeline. Yes, MLB has said it will investigate expansion as soon as the Tampa Bay Rays figure out if they are going to be able to get a new stadium built in Tampa/St. Pete or if they need to relocate. The Rays have been trying to get a new stadium built for years, but owner Stuart Sternberg has not said definitively whether he would explore relocating to Orlando or any other city.
Alex Pring may only have one arm, but he plays football like an Ironman | Commentary
When I asked task force co-chair Jane Healy recently if it would have perhaps changed the task force recommendations if Williams had come to the table with a team, she replied: “Yes, definitely. If the Rays were saying, ‘We’re coming [to Orlando] for sure’ — and not just using us for leverage against Tampa Bay — that would have made a big difference.”
Williams acknowledges that MLB’s expansion timetable and the Rays’ potential relocation timetable don’t jibe with the county commission’s timetable for allocating money. Unfortunately, the chance to get a MLB team only comes around once a generation, which means Orlando’s rare opportunity is being victimized by bad timing.
“The timing is not in our favor,” Williams admits. “It [the allocation process] is moving too fast, but we’re not giving up yet.”
Translation: It’s going to take a Hail Mary for Williams to succeed.
Correction: It’s going to take a Hail Jerry — as in Orange County mayor Jerry Demings.
If one of Central Florida’s political heavyweights like Demings or Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer would jump on the baseball bandwagon, then maybe — just maybe — it could get rolling again. However, Demings and Dyer have been publicly silent about backing the baseball effort. When asked the difference between leading the baseball effort today and leading the NBA effort in the mid-1980s, Williams replies: “The two mayors were out waving flags, blowing trumpets and leading the charge 37 years ago.”
Hopefully, this will be the last ‘exciting’ Magic draft for a long time | Commentary
In fairness, Demings and Dyer would probably be on board if there was an actual team to pursue, but they haven’t been willing to use their political clout to let potential baseball teams know that Orlando is open for business.
Williams is a promoter; not a politician. It’s no secret that political support is imperative for any community to land a major league sports franchise. We’re certainly seeing that in Las Vegas, where the politicians have aggressively backed the pursuit of sports teams and have helped land an NFL, NHL and soon-to-be MLB franchise (the Oakland A’s) in the last six years. While the City Beautiful tries to keep up with Sin City in the convention center-grandiosity competition, there’s no denying Vegas is routing us in the professional sports competition.
Even though Orlando is the biggest city in the country without an MLB or NFL team and even though Orlando is the 17th largest media market in the nation while Vegas is 40th, Vegas is passionate about professional sports; Orlando is passive.
Sadly, Pat Williams is about to strike out on his solo mission to bring baseball to Orlando.
It’s just too bad he’s the only one who’s been willing to step up to the plate.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and HD 101.1-2
