The Atlanta Braves have announced a deal is close to make Sarasota County the new home for spring training.
The team said Tuesday it is in exclusive negotiations with the county and its partners at the West Villages.
If the agreement is reached, the Braves will move their spring training operations from Disney's Wide World of Sports to Sarasota County as soon as the 2019 spring season,
"This is the perfect location for our team and we couldn't be more excited to be part of Sarasota County and West Villages," said Braves Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk.
"There's still a lot of work to do to finalize the terms, agreements and approvals necessary, but this announcement is a major step forward in the efforts to bring the Braves to our area," said County Administrator Tom Harmer.
The planned site is located within the City of North Port.
All parties will be working over the next several months to finalize the terms and move forward with the project.
The county plans to provide a public update on the status of the negotiations at the Jan. 24 Board of County Commissioners meeting.
The team will also start playing at the brand new SunTrust Park located 10 miles outside of Atlanta this season.
