Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis has proposed moving the Tokyo Olympic Games to Florida this summer.
In a letter to the International Olympic Committee, Patronis noted Florida hosting events like NBA games in Orlando, the National College Football Championship in Miami, and the upcoming Super Bowl LV in Tampa.
He didn’t include the cost to move the Games or who would pay for it.
The IOC issued a statement on Friday saying that it will still attempt to host the Olympics in Tokyo this year.
Patronis also tweeted a note Monday inviting Major League Baseball teams scheduled to play their spring training games in Arizona to come to Florida.
The teams sent a letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred asking him to delay the start of spring training due to coronavirus concerns.
The letter was co-signed by the mayors of the Arizona cities of Mesa, Scottsdale, Surprise, Glendale, Goodyear and Peoria, as well as representatives from Phoenix and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Patronis' tweet read "Florida is open for business. DM (Direct Message) me!"
Florida is open for business. DM me! #flapol ⚾️ + Florida = 🏆 https://t.co/r7RIQa7DIm
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) January 25, 2021
Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to camps in Arizona and Florida in just over three weeks.
Arizona is averaging just under 7,000 new coronavirus cases per day.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
