Reds Look for New Training Site

CINCINNATI —  The Cincinnati Reds are talking to authorities in three Florida cities that are potential spring training sites for the National League club beyond this year.

Authorities in Tampa, Fla., the Reds’ traditional training site, are trying to win a major league franchise that would displace the Reds after this spring.

Reds owner Marge Schott and General Manager Bill Bergesch have met with authorities in Port St. Lucie, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach, all on Florida’s west coast, for introductory talks about spring training.

Schott said no decision will be made for several months. Bergesch plans another swing through the three west coast cities after the Reds report for workouts Feb. 20 in Tampa. It’ll be the Reds’ 53rd spring training in Tampa, where the club has trained continuously since 1931 except for a break during World War II when travel was restricted.

“This is something we’re going to have to study very closely,” Schott said. “We are not looking at this as what’s best for the Reds, but what’s best for the Reds and the city we decide on. . . . I told everyone we talked to this would take some time--two to four months, at the least, at the very least.”

Bergesch said the Reds must be careful because other clubs, including the New York Mets, are looking for a new spring training site.

“We don’t want to sit back while all the good spots are gobbled up,” Bergesch said.

The Reds also aren’t convinced they’ll have to leave Tampa, where their contract runs through the 1987 spring season.

“I like Tampa. I always have,” Schott said. “And we’re still interested in Tampa. But you don’t know what is going to happen with that situation.

“They are counting on expansion (by the major leagues), and I just don’t think expansion is going to happen--not soon, anyway. Maybe Tampa will turn around. We’ve got two years let with Tampa, and a lot can happen in two years.”

Rick Nafe, spokesman for the Tampa Sports Authority, said the city is making no promises to the Reds beyond this spring because it wants to get a major-league expansion club.

“Officially, we are prepared for the Reds to be here in ‘86,” Nafe said. “After that, it’s very much up in the air.”

Schott said representatives in Port St. Lucie, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach are courting the Reds.

“Everybody wants the Reds,” she said. “And everybody has been very nice. It makes this decision all the more difficult.”