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

[Tobywan]

Last week the Rays sat down with St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman to iron out another
possible deal that would be to the city council's liking.

[Tobywan]

This initiative snowball quickly, there was no plan to have an official vote until later in the month, but the plan was changed. Council voted today and approved the deal with a 5-3 vote. The Rays will be allowed to seek stadium sites in Pinellas and Hillsborough County.

[Tobywan]

Immediately, after the Rays got deal to look outside St. Pete came the reports and blogs about possible stadium sites on both sides of the bay. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn likes the old Tampa Park Apartments site. It sits right on the edge of both downtown Tampa and Ybor City and probably fits closest to the Rays vague guidelines of what they are looking for being close to the business core and major highways.

Another site is the ConAgra flour mill, but holds an extra issue of having to pony up for part of the cost to relocate the mill and might need some land that is currently in the hands of Lightning owner Jeff Vinik.

There are those advocating for something more accessible to the Lakeland and Orlando crowds. However, they don't fit the criteria of the "urban core".

[Tobywan]

The Atlanta Braves were vying for a spring home at Toytown in Pinellas County but that appears to be over. They are now considering moving to Sarasota County which would put them closer to the teams that play in that area including the Rays in Port Charlotte.

The Toytown area has also been bounced around as a possible site for the Rays to explore as well as Oldsmar near the the Tampa Bay Downs Racetrack. It would require widening the road and there is no direct interstate access.

Another idea has been a waterfront area around the Port of Tampa.