THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

The Reds and Goodyear, Arizona, have signed a deal that will give both 75-days to hammer out a deal to move the reds spring training facility from Sarasota, Florida.75-days where both sides can negotiate with no one else.

Here are some of the things you can find in Goodyear, Arizona: Peter Piper Pizza, a shuttered up horse track that went under because it was inaccessible and the Arizona State Pen.

If I’m Sarasota, I’m talking up my very viable dog track today. And the low crime rate.

The Reds have been trying to get the Sarasota county government to pony up about 15 million to help renovated Ed Smith Stadium. The total bill is about 40-million, but the state of Florida and the Reds are willing to toss in some dough.

Last week, the the Sarasota county commission essentially voted the tax deal down. Not surprising. I lived in Florida for seven years. If the second coming was a tax issue down there, trust me, it would be voted down.

Ed Smith Stadium isn’t delapitated. It’s certainly not new. But as spring training venues go, it’s not bad. It’s not handicap access friendly. But it won’t take 40-million to fix that. Some of the baseball field flood when it rains. Just about every field in Florida floods when it rains.

Bob Castellini doesn’t really want to go to Goodyear Arizona. And really, has anyone ever said to you they want to go to Goodyear, Arizona? He’s willing to pitch in $9 million to the 40-million dollar project to make it work in Sarasota. In Goodyear, all Castellini would have to do is show up. Maybe bring a nice bottle of Merlot as a calling card. But that’s about it. He could, presumably, take that $9 million he was going to give Sarasota and go out and buy a decent pitcher.

But if Castellini takes his team to Goodyear, Arizona, here’s what he won’t get. Fans from Cincinnati to spend a spring vacation watching his team. How many of your friends are gonna hop in a car and drive three days to watch spring training games? You can make Sarasota in about 13 hours.

You’ll hear some boasting on message boards from people who’ll say they’ll have no problem making the trip to Goodyear, Arizona, to watch Reds baseball. But mostly, those people live in their parents’ basement.

If Castellini takes his team west, here’s what he won’t get. Complete coverage on TV and in the Enquirer and Dayton Daily News. Afternoon games won’t be over in time for the 6p news. Night games won’t be over in time to get in the morning editions of the paper. Maybe he doesn’t care about that. But he should.

If Castellini takes his team west, here’s what Sarasota loses: a newspaper by line everyday, nationwide. Proof that there’s life beyond early bird specials at the local cafeterias. Admit it, when someone mentioned the city of Sarasota to you before the Reds landed there in the late 90’s, what did you think of? Right, grandma. Sarasota was then, and is now, a pretty neat place. Art, dining, the beach. But the thing that city has fought, forever, is the image of retirement haven, a slow moving burb with every bad driver from the north.