FORT MYERS, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2009) – One of the sites being considered for the Boston Red Sox’s new spring training stadium has the potential of generating millions of dollars in sponsorship and advertising revenue. The Millennium Corporate Centre site, with nearly 1.75-miles of frontage along Interstate 75 and Treeline Avenue delivers an added bonus of prime visibility – a factor that could entice major sponsorships and added revenue to Lee County’s coffers said Dan DeLisi, Vice-President of DeLisi Fitzgerald, a planning and engineering company based in Fort Myers. Located across from the main access road to Southwest Florida International Airport, each of the 8 million passengers in and out of the airport could potentially travel by the spring training complex – a significant asset in driving game ticket sales, enhancing tourism and creating a destination location for the community.
“The county commission and the Red Sox need to consider visibility in their site selection process,” DeLisi said. “The proper location will generate major revenue from advertising value based on the location and the design of improvements and signs. Our site is clearly visible along I-75 and an interchange where cars are slowing down, and it already includes major billboard advertising.” DeLisi compares the center’s interstate visibility to nearby Germain Arena. That facility generated $7 million under a 20-year contract originally purchased by TECO Peoples Gas on a deal made in 1998.
The Millennium Corporate Centre, a planned 300-acre Class-A mixed-use business, industrial, and commercial master-planned park designed for corporate headquarters, research and technology and light manufacturing, is on Treeline Avenue and along the path of the proposed new I-75 interchange between Alico Road and Daniels Parkway. “This location is at the front-door of the airport and a prime real estate location in Lee County,” DeLisi said. “The value of this property will only increase as I-75 matures, the new interchange and connector road gets built and Treeline develops.”
I-75 is being widened to six lanes and a proposed new interchange is to be located at the northwest corner of the site. “There are several approved projects waiting in the wings that will be developed when the present economic conditions start correcting,” Delisi said. “This site is likely to be one that develops sooner rather than later.”
Nearly 90,000 vehicles travel the interstate and Treeline each day, and outdoor advertising is at a premium in this area. Businesses pay to advertise in this location because it has the potential of reaching so many people each day. “We have the opportunity to attract some major sports sponsors by locating the Red Sox stadium here,” DeLisi said. “The visibility of the Stadium accompanied by signage and messaging capabilities can produce a dependable source of cash flow and enhance the revenues of the County or the Red Sox.”
The I-75 corridor from Daniels Parkway south is Southwest Florida’s hottest market for billboard placement due to its proximity to the airport, Florida Gulf Coast University and Estero and Naples. Space on the tri-vision billboard currently located on the site is sold by Carter Outdoor Advertising for as much as $5000 a month.
Millennium Corporate Centre’s concept plans include a full service hotel with meeting and banquet facilities, restaurants and shops that would serve stadium patrons, Red Sox ballplayers and management. It is also being designed with parks, a water park and facilities that could host concerts, public festivals and other events year round. The site has the basic zoning approvals sand all public infrastructure is in place, DeLisi said.
