Countdown to a new Rays stadium......

[Tobywan]

…………….begins NOW!


This subject has been debated almost from the time the team took the field for their inaugural season. The Florida Suncoast Dome was built to attract baseball to St Petersburg 10 years before being awarded a team, so it was already a bit “out dated” before the Rays got there.

The hot button topic of a new stadium location for the Rays started to gain wider attention and debate once the Rays thrust themselves into a brighter spotlight with an unlikely worst to first run in the 2008 season. Suddenly, a larger audience than the humble crowds that gathered under the dome was watching them. Since then the local media, city & county officials and the Rays front office have played cat & mouse when bringing up the subject. Officially, no one is supposed to work on a plan for a location outside of ST Pete or Pinellas County. Officially, no one is supposed to try to figure out how to finance such a project. Officially, no one is to be talking about it. That hasn’t stopped just about everyone including the media, officials and those speaking on behalf or even directly involved with the Rays from alluding to the subject in a round about way for the past 4 years.

The issue has slowly been coming to a boil locally since 2008. That year a proposal by the Rays for a new stadium (on the site of their former spring training site Al Lang/Progress Energy Field) was submitted and quickly withdrawn. Later, it was revealed that it received a lot of criticism from city and county officials that it was being rushed as a referendum for an upcoming November ballot.

As surely as the buzz of spring training and the excitement of opening day came the renewed “unofficial” stadium discussions. This season the media on both sides of Tampa Bay have written “unofficial” news blurbs about the issue every few weeks. The Tampa Tribune presented thoughts, wishes, speculation and quotes from the Mayor, city and county officials during local speeches, luncheons and planning and development meetings. The ST Petersburg Times presenting the rebuttal that mainly just reiterated the St Pete Mayor’s stance that the Rays belong to them and he’s not budging on the lease agreement. He claims to have a “plan” but gives no details. Sternberg had asked committees to come up with ideas, but nothing formally as it is supposed to be against the “lease” agreement.

On the eve of the Ray’s elimination from the 2011 postseason Stu Sternberg once again spoke out about the non-viability of ST Pete to be able to support the Rays long term. Much has been made about the game on Tuesday being the only post season Ray’s game not to sell out. Well, a time being announced less than 48 hours beforehand coupled with a midday start hampered many people. I expected the crowd to be worse, but clearly, the Rays and media were disappointed. The focus is the 81 regular games and it’s true, very few are coming. I do firmly believe a small portion of the problem is price and the current economy. Many of the excuses I hear is location, even though the popular “unofficial” new stadium sites are a whopping 15 minutes closer than the dome for those outside the Tampa city limits.

The thing that won’t change with a better economy, a consistently winning team or even a new venue in ST Pete is a throng of support from the Tampa /Hillsborough County side. That is where the center of the population in the Tampa Bay area resides. Tampa also has the larger financial district in which to draw more sponsorship and suite sales, which is where the bulk of stadium revenue comes from not individual ticket sales. However, there is no guarantee that a new venue in Tampa won’t suffer the same attendance woes when the newness wears off or the Rays fall into years of contending black outs.

The local media has been focusing on Sternberg’s timing of his statements, but I suspect they were in direct response to the same question. What shouldn’t be lost though is the bottom line……..he’s right. He can’t sustain the team’s competitiveness if he’s just breaking even every season. He’s right that MLB will not allow them to continue without some kind of improvement in attendance or sustaining revenue. To use Stu’s word………“vaporized”


This is sure to heat up even more once the Marlins new stadium opens as they got funding while drawing even fewer fans in recent years than the Rays.

If the buzz coming out of Tampa which has been eerily similar to the buzz being generated before the Bucs were given funding for Raymond James, the Rays will likely stay and move to Tampa. Mayor Foster (ST Pete) wants to hold up the 2027 lease , technically it is a “use agreement” and it was put in place under the old ownership there is no “rent” paid by the team for it’s use. The bonds on the Trop will be paid off by 2014.

So, the countdown begins, a new stadium, a new city, a new state or vaporized.

****I was in the process of putting this thread together to post after the WS was over, but in light if a story that broke today in the local media I decided to post it now. I guess it is going to heat up even before opening day. As I have said “officially” no one is allowed to speak directly to the Rays with offers, but it seems Tampa is determined to send the message to Sternberg through the media. Tampa most notably Mayor Buckhorn has expressed many times including in this piece that he is open to finding a way to keep the team if they "divorce" St Pete.


Tampa says it can potentially contribute $100 million for a Rays stadium

[Tobywan]

Seems Stu sent an email/clarification/apology to season tickets holders.

Full text of letter:

Thank you for being such a big part of a wonderfully improbable
season!

I know you share my pride in our ballclub's successes over the past
six seasons. We are one of three teams to reach the Postseason three
out of the past four years. To do it from the AL East, while winning
the East twice, makes it all the sweeter.

Rays fans support the team in many ways. Perhaps they attend a few
games each year, coordinate a group outing, or watch or listen from a
distance. I am grateful for each and every Rays fan.

But it is our season ticket holders who have been and continue to be
our foundation. Without your loyal support, we could not begin to do
what we do. I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate the time
and hard-earned money you invest in the Rays. You are the ones who
support the team through thick and thin. You spread word throughout
our community about the great experiences you have at Tropicana
Field, as well as your memories and friendships that are connected to
Rays baseball.

We all care deeply about the organization. We want it to succeed. We
want it to be a fixture in Tampa Bay. We want the seats filled, the
atmosphere charged, and the play on the field to be of high quality.
Each Spring, we want to look forward to the bright prospects of a new
season.

As in the past, I will continue to communicate with you honestly and
with candor.

I became the principal owner of the Rays in 2005 because I believed
that Major League Baseball could thrive in Tampa Bay. The
transformation of the franchise has been breathtaking: a rebranding
of the team to become the Rays, significant investments in Tropicana
Field, top notch fan experience and customer service, and, of course,
development of an acclaimed baseball operations department.

Just as when this organization was "under construction" back in 2005,
we continue to face major challenges. At that time, I said that there
were no quick, easy fixes. I asked for patience as we built the Rays
from a team that had never experienced success into what it is today.

Recently, I have acknowledged that the future of the Rays and Major
League Baseball in Tampa Bay is precarious. I have expressed concern
about the long-term health and vitality of our franchise. When asked
by the press, I did not shy away from answering questions about
attendance and our future. For the sake of our franchise, we cannot
ignore these questions. Doing so would be a disservice to the
organization, its employees and all of its loyal supporters.

Please do not take my remarks as a complaint -- they were not
intended to be. I was not pointing fingers. I was not blaming anyone.
I do not mean to sound ungrateful to our fans for their support, and
I certainly will not tell anyone how to spend his or her money. I was
simply being forthright about a reality that must be faced. It would
be easy to assure you and all Rays fans that everything will be fine,
but that would be disingenuous.

It has been a thrilling past six years for the Rays. We have
experienced success on the field that most everyone believed to be
impossible. This success has exposed questions from which neither the
Rays nor the Tampa Bay region can hide. I assure you that our
organization is committed to doing all that we can to find solutions.

I am proud to be the principal owner of the Rays, and I am truly
grateful for your support, dedication and passion. Thank you for
being a season ticket holder. Your support does not go unnoticed by
any of us within the organization.

I look forward to seeing you on Opening Day 2012 for the next edition
of our Rays.

Sincerely,

Stuart Sternberg

[Tobywan]

Then just this evening Bud Selig was asked on a radio show covering the WS about the Rays situation

Selig: No reason to be optimistic on stadium situation

Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday had one word - "bad" - to describe the Rays attendance issues and said he doesn't see "any reason to be too optimistic" about their stadium situation being resolved.

Speaking to Chris Russo on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio channel at the World Series, Selig was asked about principal owner Stuart Sternberg's dire comments after the ALDS loss and the Rays overall situation.

Said Selig: “I like Stu Sternberg a lot, as you probably know. I have a great deal of respect for him. He’s a very thoughtful, very interesting guy, done a great job there, done a brilliant job there. I, too, am concerned about their attendance. I track attendance every day. He knows it. I’ve talked to him a lot. They are a wonderful organization, produced a terrific team this year and finished last in the American League in attendance. I’ll let you draw your own conclusion. That’s bad.”

Russo then asked, Is the stadium situation in Tampa (Bay) a lost cause?
Selig's response: “I can’t answer that yet but I’m usually an optimist and I don’t have any reason to be too optimistic.”

[Tobywan]

St Pete Times October 22,2011......


Enlightened voices on Rays stadium emerge



St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster's rope-a-dope strategy for avoiding discussion of a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays was on full display this week. The charade of a briefing provided by his staff and the city attorney to the City Council revealed little and suggested there is no plan beyond hiding behind the stadium lease and threatening to sue anyone who offers one. Fortunately, others are beginning to step forward to fill the leadership void.

A group studying the financing of a baseball stadium — a joint effort by the Greater Tampa and St. Petersburg Area chambers of commerce — is asking smart questions on both sides of the bay. Most intriguing, Tampa city officials estimate the city theoretically could contribute up to $100 million toward a new stadium. That would probably be a bond issue backed by money now used to pay the city's debt on the Tampa Convention Center, which will be paid off in 2015. It's all just about options now, but it is the sort of information that needs to be gathered and more than Foster has publicly offered.

The St. Petersburg City Council workshop on Thursday, two parts history and one part saber-rattling, underscored the mayor's refusal to engage. Foster said he did not want to get into "what-if scenarios" and skipped much of the meeting. His ally on the council, chairman James Kennedy, stuck to the script and unfairly cut off council member Leslie Curran's questions. That heavy-handedness won't play well, and neither will city attorney John Wolfe's refusal to answer questions in public or warnings about the city negotiating against itself. Continuing to cite the lease and suggesting the Rays could play in outdated Tropicana Field until the agreement expires in 2027 is not a viable strategy for keeping Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay.

There is a silver lining to Foster's stonewalling. The more enlightened council members are growing impatient and finding their voices. Jeff Danner, Steve Kornell, Wengay Newton and Karl Nurse joined Curran in expressing frustration and asking smart questions. Kornell got Wolfe to acknowledge there is nothing in the lease that prevents the city from working on detailed options for a new stadium. Nurse noted it would be useful to connect light rail to the stadium debate, because one key issue is making it easier for baseball fans to get to games. And Danner suggested inviting officials from the Rays and the chamber study group for a broader public discussion. They should keep pushing for more brainstorming about a new stadium and fewer threats of lawsuits.

Business leaders on both sides of the bay are engaged and gathering helpful research on stadium funding. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is thinking out loud and hitting the right political notes. And a majority of the St. Petersburg City Council — which has the authority to amend the lease with the Rays — wants to get in the game and participate in broader discussions. Foster still has an opportunity to lead. But if he continues to stall, the public conversation about a new stadium and the future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay will move on without him.

[Tobywan]

Appears to be dessention in the ST Pete camp.



St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster disputes account of criticism of Tampa Bay Rays' marketing efforts

By David DeCamp and Michael Van Sickler, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Thursday, October 27, 2011


ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Bill Foster said Wednesday that he doesn't see the Tampa Bay Rays doing much to market the team in the Tampa Bay area.
But Pinellas County Commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala said Foster went a step further when he called her Friday.

" 'I believe that they are deliberately trying to hurt the team financially by not promoting it adequately,' " Latvala recalled Foster telling her.

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Lat*vala remembered responding: "Really, really? Why would they do that?"

He didn't answer, but Latvala said she assumed he thought the Rays are trying to depress attendance to gain leverage in their bid for a new stadium.
But Foster, who has called himself the Rays' biggest cheerleader, questioned Latvala's version.

"That's stupid, that's ludicrous," Foster said. "That was not said. I would challenge Susan to her face if she says I said that. She won't put words in my mouth."

Told of Foster's denial, Latvala stood by her recollection of what he said Friday. Foster was "very concise and clear" that the Rays weren't "putting all the resources they really could because they want it to fail," she said.

There's a lot riding on who said what and why.

Today, the City Council will discuss Rays marketing and what the city can do to help, one week after its contentious discussion last week on the team's future.

Even what Foster acknowledges telling Latvala — that he's not seeing enough marketing by the Rays — illuminates much about St. Petersburg's standoff with the team.

If what Latvala says is true, it would further escalate the brinkmanship that started last year between Foster and Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.

Sternberg has said that the club can't make it financially at Tropicana Field, but Foster is opposed to discussing any new locations outside the city and has threatened to sue anyone who does.

City Council members can amend the use agreement to allow the Rays to look at Tampa and pressed Foster to discuss an overall strategy. Foster has said he has a detailed plan to keep the Rays, but hasn't revealed what it is.

Foster said he called Lat*vala on Friday to discuss Rays marketing. He said he wanted to gauge the chances of using county hotel taxes to promote the team.

Latvala said Foster asked if she believes the Rays have correctly handled a promotion agreement with the county's tourism agency. She said she does.

She said Foster told her the Rays spent about $500,000 on marketing, and it was on the low end of Major League Baseball. She said he also told her that he had people close to him researching the issue, but did not identify them.

Foster acknowledged telling her that the Rays spent $500,000 on marketing. He said he got that figure from a reporter.

"Sometimes even reporters get it wrong, but this one is credible," Foster said.

Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said the team spends "far in excess'' of $500,000 on marketing.
"Our budget for giveaway items alone exceeds that amount,'' he said in a statement.

The different recollections of what Foster told Latvala confused council member Leslie Curran. She has urged Foster to openly discuss plans to keep the Rays.

If Latvala's right, Foster is undermining the city's relationship with a crucial St. Petersburg business, Curran said.

"Why do we want to pick a fight with them?" she said. "The one thing I don't understand is why for a city that wants to keep the Rays, why would it take this adversarial position about marketing?"

[Tobywan]

On today’s episode of Battle For The Rays…

St. Petersburg City Council pleased to finally have say on Rays issues

By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, October 28, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG — For two months, St. Petersburg City Council members have squirmed with mounting frustration that a stalemate with the Tampa Bay Rays seemed to leave them on the sidelines while Mayor Bill Foster called the shots.

At one meeting, Foster said he had a detailed plan to keep the Rays in town but couldn't discuss it. The council asked for another meeting to learn more, but he skipped most of it. Meanwhile, the city attorney warned that too much Rays talk could undermine the city's contractual rights.

But those frustrations dissipated quickly Thursday as council members finally had some say and came away smiling.

For two hours, they chipped in ideas for boosting attendance. They called for more business and government cooperation throughout the region. And they urged Foster to improve his often icy relations with the team.

"There was more energy from this meeting,'' said council member Leslie Curran, who has pushed for more discussion after Foster implied in August that the council would rather leave baseball business to him.

"Today our constituents can see that we are involved,'' Curran said.

What the council did not address was the fundamental stalemate between landlord and tenant: The Rays say they cannot afford to play at the Trop through 2027, when their contract ends.

Foster will discuss possibilities for a new stadium — but only within St. Petersburg or on adjacent, annexable land.

Principal Rays owner Stuart Sternberg refuses to discuss St. Petersburg locations unless he can explore options in Hillsborough County as well.

Foster and Sternberg may soon get a chance to review their deadlock. At a recent playoff game, Foster said, they agreed to meet after the World Series.

"I don't necessarily need to go to New York … but I will if you authorize it,'' Foster told the council, half in jest. "I would prefer to wait until he comes down.''

"Go!" shouted Curran.

Curran, who has lately taken pointed jabs at Foster's leadership, launched another zinger Thursday, referring to a report that the mayor told Pinellas County Commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala that the Rays are deliberately trying to hurt attendance by not promoting the team.

The two sides will never work things out "if we keep firing shots across the bow,'' Curran said. "We want to maintain our legal standing and yet we want to continue to bad mouth the Rays? I don't think that's good.''

Foster reiterated his emphatic denial that he told Latvala any such thing.

"I am not going to allow a gross exaggeration from a private conversation to impede our progress with the Rays," he said.

That interchange aside, the council meeting was largely genial and upbeat.

Council member Jeff Danner suggested charter buses linked to distant sports bars, opening day parades and events in the park.

"Build some excitement for the Rays in this region,'' Danner said. "That's where you've got to start.''

Council member Steve Kornell said the chamber of commerce and School Board might team up to buy tickets for schoolchildren. "Pump up the stadium with kids," he said.

Council member Karl Nurse talked of supporting regional mass transit, including a proposed referendum that would allow the county transit authority to forgo property taxes in favor of a sales tax.

"What keeps people away is not the distance (from the stadium),'' Nurse said, "but the anxiety of whether it is going to take 45 minutes or 145 minutes.''

Council member Wengay Newton lauded the council for kicking around ideas and said he was tired of a widespread perception that the Rays will eventually end up in Tampa.

"We have to get the buzz back on our Rays staying here in St. Petersburg,'' Newton said. "It's got to be St. Pete, St. Pete, St. Pete. Period.''

[Tobywan]

From the Tampa Tribune…..



St. Pete mayor will meet with Rays owner


By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 27, 2011
Updated: October 28, 2011 - 7:42 AM

ST. PETERSBURG --
Mayor Bill Foster and the St. Petersburg City Council started hashing out a sometimes testy issue: whether or not to break the stalemate with the Tampa Bay Rays and start talking about the team's contract at Tropicana Field.

The Council seems split on the issue. Some members want to engage the Rays proactively and others want to wait for the team to make the first move. Even where and when to meet with the team is up for debate.

Foster on Thursday said he will sit down with Tampa Bay Rays managing partner Stuart Sternberg after the World Series, but he questions whether it is a city's role to sell tickets for a baseball team.

Foster revealed that he spoke cordially with Sternberg after the recent playoffs, and the two men agreed to meet after the season ended. No date has been set for that meeting, Foster said.

Still, initially he bristled at the idea that he should fly to New York to meet with the Rays' owner, suggesting he would like to wait until Sternberg visits the Tampa Bay area.

At that, Councilwoman Leslie Curran, who has been pushing for a dialogue with the team, groaned.

"Oh, just meet with him," she blurted out.

Soon though, Foster relented and said he would be willing to fly to New York if necessary.

The city and the team have been in a standoff for more than a year over the team's future at Tropicana Field. Mayor Foster has said he is willing to allow the team to consider new stadium sites as long as they are in St. Petersburg or could be annexed into it. The team has said it wants to explore sites throughout the Bay area, including in Hillsborough County.

The big sticking point Thursday was whether council members could start talking about their options without giving the Rays some wiggle room to get out of their stadium use agreement. Anything the council members say can be used against them, warned City Attorney John Wolfe.

Ultimately, council members were relieved that Foster said he would meet individually with Sternberg, and they didn't push for any formal negotiations with the Rays over the stadium contract. They also explored ways that the city can help improve attendance at Rays games.

One idea was to work with other cities and counties and sports bars in the region to get more charter buses to games. Another idea was to encourage more schoolchildren to attend games so they become lifelong fans.

Foster said the city has tried in the past to boost attendance. St. Petersburg has held rallies, hung banners on city streets and, on occasion, city officials have met players at the airport after the playoffs.

However, the team hasn't always cooperated, he said.

Foster once enlisted former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio to join him on a marketing effort around the Bay area. The idea was to drop in on corporations that had failed to renew their season tickets and encourage them to buy more. The team declined to make the list of such companies available, though, Foster said.

The mayor also said the Rays are a private company, and it's not clear how far the city should go in helping the team sell tickets.

"I have to question the role of government in any private endeavor," Foster said.

Things occasionally got heated Thursday, with a few council members taking shots at the mayor's reluctance to meet with the team, at least until now.

Curran scolded the mayor for some comments he made recently questioning the team's marketing efforts.

Fellow Councilman Wengay Newton seemed frustrated that the city searched nationwide two decades ago when St. Petersburg was recruiting a Major League Baseball team.

"But now we won't go 10 blocks to go talk to them," Newton said.

[Tobywan]

Regional sports authority floated for Rays stadium


By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 31, 2011
Updated: October 31, 2011 - 7:34 PM


TAMPA If the Tampa Bay Rays get a new ballpark, the team might need the entire Bay area to help fund it.

That's a tricky idea, but it's one that a stadium committee made up of the Tampa and St. Petersburg chambers of commerce is exploring. The idea is to create a regional sports authority similar to the Tampa Sports Authority that would oversee any new baseball stadium.

So far, it hasn't gone beyond the idea stage, and it might have a tough time getting buy-in from the Florida Legislature.

Still, a regional authority might draw from a much larger tax base than any single city or county and put a bigger dent into a stadium's $500-$600 million cost.

A regional authority would be necessary for county tax dollars to go to a stadium in another county.

A big question: would people be willing to support a stadium on the other side of the bay?

"Let's say it's located in Pinellas," said Eric Hart, executive director of the Tampa Sports Authority. "How do you get people in Hillsborough and Pasco to pay for it?"

A chamber of commerce group, the Baseball Stadium Financing Caucus, has been talking with city and county leaders on both sides of the bay lately to figure out how to pay for a new ballpark. It has no legislative powers, so it would need politicians to champion its ideas.

A few weeks ago, caucus members chatted about the regional sports authority idea with Hart. His agency, the Tampa Sports Authority, operates Raymond James Stadium and issued some of the debt for the football stadium and the St. Pete Times Forum, but it doesn't have taxing power.

The idea has more questions right now than answers.

For example, a state program can help offset the cost of a new stadium by diverting $2 million a year in sales taxes toward the stadium for 30 years. That fund already helps pay off Tropicana Field.

Could a new regional sports authority tap into that money for a new ballpark?, asks Bob Rohrlack, chief executive of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Another question is whether to create a new sports authority or just expand the Tampa Sports Authority to encompass the entire area.

A major advantage of a regional authority, of course, is it might be able to tax a much larger base than just a single city or county. Caucus members say it's not clear if such a local authority would even have the power to tax. Denver operates something similar, with state-run football and baseball taxing districts that levy a one-tenth of 1-percent sales tax in six counties.

That six-county tax brings in about $38 million a year.

A major sticking point to doing that in the Tampa Bay area is getting the Legislature to champion it. State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said he sees no appetite for creating any new authority with the power to tax or issue debt in this economy.

Plus, the players in the stadium debate may want some resolution to the controversy before legislators could create a sports authority, said Mark Wimberly, co-chairman of the chamber stadium caucus.

"This is not something you can pull together in a couple months," he said. "It would take a concerted effort in working with the state Legislature."

[Tobywan]

Last week the Rays organization headed by owner Sternberg started the ground work to build another community playground, this time in the Sulphur Springs area. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn came out to show support. It is speculated that his presence was a direct result of the announcement that a meeting is to take place next week between Sternberg and ST Pete Mayor Bill Foster, a meeting that Foster himself has arranged.

As recently as Oct. Foster had kept to his stance that come hell or a structure leveling hurricane, the Rays will be playing in the outdated Trop for the remainder of their use agreement.

ST Pete City council members say he needs to open a dialog with the Rays.

Stu Sternberg says let's talk, but if there is no change in your stance there is no change in mine.

Selig says something needs to change and he's not optimistic.

Buckhorn says Tampa will make sure the Rays are here if (when) ST Pete and the team “divorce”.

Stay tuned…

Politics makes strange playground playdates.

[Tobywan]

In the he said/he said arena. The result of the “meeting” between ST Mayor Foster and Rays owner Sternberg is for the most part no change. Mayor seems to be under the delusion that since Stu didn’t tell him in so many words the Rays are leaving that he won’t make an attempt. While Stu under no illusion says Foster hasn’t changed his stance and neither have I.

One thing they supposedly did agree on was to try to work together to at least boost attendance for 2012. Whoopee! (From the buzz in the area I think Pena will have more influence than Mayor Foster.)


Meanwhile there have been multitudes of editorials by the local journalist on both sides of the bay as well as many letters to the editors on the subject and will continue to get more heated.

One of my favorite recent letters was from a guy comparing Mayor Foster’s “secret plan” for the Rays stadium issue to Richard Nixon’s secret plan to end the Vietnam War during his run for the Presidency in 1968.

[Foster]

Note, Mayor Foster is of no known relation. Please, don't hold that against me.

[Tobywan]

Nah, we're cool...us AL East underlings have to stick together, there are so few of us.

[Tobywan]

Another volley fired across the bow!

"I'm willing to be the boyfriend that causes the divorce."

Tampa Bay Times: Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Hagan stirring the pot.

Hagan said he will ask the county attorney whether Hillsborough County can engage the team in discussions without provoking a lawsuit. He also expects to bring the issue before the full county commission within a few weeks.

Tampa Tribune :Hagan wants Hillsborough, Rays to talk baseball stadium

[Tobywan]

While it was time to celebrate many of the league’s best and for others in the league to take a rest, the All-Star game in recent years has also been the time for Selig to come out from under a bolder and throw stones at Tropicana Field and of course will reload the slingshot IF the Rays make the play-offs again.. He wasn’t the only one though, during most of the All Star events someone threw stones at the Home of the Rays whenever they got the chance. While other future players and current all -stars were praised for their potential or current prowess anytime a player from the Rays organization was in the game the Trop was the subject. Heck even when Rays weren’t involved like right smack dab in the middle of the Home Run Derby there were shots fired at the Trop.



I certainly would agree that that Tropicana Field is not the best venue aesthetically and yes, there has been a challenge getting a full house outside of special events, when playing popular opponents or weekends. The problem with Selig and his lack of attendance outcry is that the main reason the Rays organization wants/needs a new venue isn’t specifically because of the lack of “regular “ fan attendance. Attendance is has increased considerably from those last in the division days and is up this year from last, which is good considering the injuries and error issues leading to a lot of lost games this season. What the Rays want are the amenities, suites and fancy party areas that have become part of the new ball park trend because that is where most of the league makes it’s real revenue. They want the park in Tampa because Tampa is the hub of the area, the better known town over St Petersburg, Tampa is easier to “market” to local businesses as well as tourists than St Pete. By virtue of a new playground initial fan attendance will increase just like it always does for new parks. All eyes will be on Miami to see if that new park can sustain it’s attendance longer than it’s opening year. They will be looked at by officials here very closely for the same reason as well as how the investigation into the financing by the Securities and Exchange Commission plays out.


Selig’s regurgitated hot air is becoming tiresome. The battle for the Rays is just starting to heat up, a full declaration of war is on the horizon….the Tampa side is a bit busy at the moment with the RNC coming in August. However, St Pete Mayor Foster (no relation to the Canuck in our midst) is continuously called out by the media and officials on both sides of the bay and even in rival markets. My personal view is a lot will depend on the St Petersburg Mayor’s race in 2013, if Foster is booted out it could turn the tide of how the issue is handled by all parties until then it will be more mudslinging and Seligisms.

[Tobywan]

I thought the talk would be pretty dead through the summer with attention being focused on the upcoming Republican National Convention that will be held in Tampa at the end of August. There are already complaints about the inevitable traffic problems before they have even started, the battle between city officials and prospective protesters and of course the obvious security issues. Yet, amid all of this mix of excitement and apprehension there is still a buzz over the Rays and their “situation”.

Well, right on cue as the Rays were playing a bit more like we have grown accustomed by taking 3 series on the road including two on the West Coast the talk starts heating up. By Tuesday of last week the local news agencies were all over a brief by a county attorney for the Hillsborough Commission that in his opinion they can talk to the Rays about their future goals as long as there are no “specifics” without being accused of with the Rays/St Petersburg lease.


Rays Stadium Saga

What immediately followed of course were the usual letters and editorials to local papers including this one.

Talk to the Rays.


By the end of the week, a vote by Hillsborough commissioners approved sending an open invitation to the Rays, the Rays have accepted.

As predicted this brought the same old threats from St Pete Mayor Bill Foster, sparking even more criticism of him from council members on his side of the bayas many city officials and Pinellas County commissioners want to open up dialogue.

If things weren’t heated enough a plan by a local developer becomes public with a proposal for a new stadium with hopes of keeping the Rays in Pinellas County but not in the city of ST Pete. In the past Foster has not been in favor of any plan that doesn’t include the city.



Pinellas developer pitching Rays stadium plan


St Pete has agreed to hear the proposal without retribution.

We won't sue you


When I first heard where this new stadium is to be located, I thought if people think the Trop is too far and hate traffic on the bridge during weeknight games, this location will be an absolute nightmare!!! Apparently, I am not the only one.


Parking would be a challenge

Stay tuned....