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

[Tobywan]

As soon as the Rays season closed, the stadium issue heated up again. Pinellas County sent an invitation to the Rays to review the stadium proposal from Darryl LeClair in the Carillion section just inside the north end of the city limits.

In mid October a response to the invitation by Sternberg asked for an amendment to the current lease. Stu stuck with his desire to be given the right to freely consider other areas of both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in exchange for listening to the proposal and any other ideas. Stu feels only considering one option would be “incomplete and inconclusive”. ST Pete Mayor Foster and some city officials are leery of giving up that control, others fear keeping such tight control could backfire and they will blamed if the day ever comes that the area loses the team completely by the bay vs. bay wars. Even before a response from ST Pete, the Rays sent acceptance letters to both the Hillsborough and Pinellas county commissions to meet for stadium discussions.

On Oct. 19, ST Pete city attorney publicly threatened to sue the Rays if they even talk to Hillsborough County.

[Tobywan]

On the 25th, Bud Selig stated that he would speak with Sternberg about any updates, hoping for progress in the future.
The next day Foster declined the Rays request to allow them to talk about other areas.
In response, Selig urged Foster to be “part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

The following are excerpts of Foster’s response to Sternberg.

"In light of the Rays obligation to the people of St. Petersburg to play fifteen more major league seasons at Tropicana Field (or 1,215 regular season home games, plus post-season)," Foster wrote in his letter, "I respectfully disagree that our exploration into (the proposed Carillon/Gateway site) in St. Petersburg would be 'incomplete and inconclusive.' "

"Through the exclusive efforts of the people of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, this region now enjoys Major League Baseball, and the fruits of their labor."


"When you became the principal owner of the Rays in 2005, you did so with your eyes wide open, fully aware of this history, and with full knowledge of the commitments made by your predecessors just ten years earlier.
The potential for attendance challenges was foreseeable in 1995, and discussed at length during negotiations, and thus, the City bargained away some of its interests in exchange for a thirty year agreement that could not be terminated on the basis of attendance.
Make no mistake," Foster continued. "This is not about money, and the City has absolutely no interest in 'winding down' our relationship prior to 2027. An optimal ballpark location and design for our region most certainly can be found in St. Petersburg and Pinellas Gateway, and I am convinced that such a ballpark would be a source of pride for generations of Tampa Bay residents.
Foster said the city's offer to discuss the CityScape/Carillon proposal is still on the table and "while we can write letters all day long, my preference is still a face to face meeting to discuss these issues of great mutual importance."

[Tobywan]

The Rays response via the media…

“Our stance has been and continues to be that only a regional dialogue will preserve baseball for generations of Tampa Bay fans. We are both surprised and disappointed by the letter from Mayor Foster today. City Attorney John Wolfe had indicated there would be a public meeting for council members to discuss the City's reply to our October 11th proposal.

We had been looking forward to that discussion and we look forward to our upcoming meetings with the Hillsborough and Pinellas Boards of County Commissioners. We invite all interested parties, including the St. Petersburg City Council, to join the conversation.”






With the upcoming elections local 10 News reprinted many of the candidates statements from their campaign in 2010 on the stadium issue.

Pinellas commission candidates stand

Hillsborough commission candidates stand

[Tobywan]

When the season began Stu Sternberg was asked a few questions and reported by Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune…

Q: Any urgency with the stadium issue?

Sternberg: “It is not, because I understand the situation. The business leaders, politicians understand the situation. MLB understands. I think a couple few years ago it was still part of the learning process. We had a pretty good sense of where things were. A good deal of frustration is that other people didn’t get a sense of where everything stood. So now everybody is on level playing field as it is and we can just be concerned about playing ball and let us work on what we’re working on.”

Q: Is Major League Baseball running out of patience with the stadium/attendance issue?

Sternberg: “I have no real power over what MLB thinks or not. As by their comments they have been disappointed in the situation down here and other teams have struggled with attendance as well, other teams have had other issues. The one issue I think is just the amount of winning, the consistency of winning, the style of winning that we’ve done, that used to cure all ills, and maybe that something that’s seeping to sport as a whole, that it just isn’t the kind of scene it once was.”

Q: Is there a timetable for the new stadium?

Sternberg: “Whatever gets us there. I know we have X number of years here and every Opening Day that comes by and clicks off, this is my eighth Opening Day, so eight from now is 2021 and, you know.”

Q: Will the Rays still be playing at the Trop in eight years?

Sternberg: “I think if we started something tomorrow, by definition, you still have to get all the process in place, the money, you’re still looking at something five years, six years out. So we’re here for a good deal of time, we’re still making investments in the building. We expect to. We’re going to keep going until we can’t go no more.”

It surprised many covering the annual Tampa Bay Rays luncheon sponsored by the St. Petersburg and Clearwater chambers of commerce in May that the stadium issue was never mentioned. It was even more surprising that Sternberg did not attend yet he did attend the Tampa Chamber Luncheon in April. The season is in full swing, attendance is down from this time last year (though supposedly attendance across the league is down) and the St. Petersburg mayoral election only months off.



The Rays invited Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn to throw out the first pitch (for the second time) at the game last Friday. He was interviewed after…

Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn said Friday he believes the Rays stadium “stalemate has gone on long enough,” admitting the waiting game has been tough because he’s “not a patient guy.”…

“I get a sense that, perhaps over the summer, there may be some movement,” Buckhorn said after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. “I don’t know what it’ll be. But I think everyone recognizes that the status quo is not an answer.”…

Buckhorn said there “needs to be options because this is not going until 2027, it’s just not.”…

Buckhorn reiterated if Rays are allowed to look elsewhere, “we’ll be ready.”

“We don’t want to lose them,” Buckhorn said. “This is our team. This isn’t Charlotte’s team, this is not Las Vegas’ team, and this team deserves the best efforts to find a way to make sure that they stay.”

The Rays have never extended that invitation to St Pete Mayor Bill Foster.

[Tobywan]

It is no surprise that Sternberg would attend the Rays series at Yankee Stadium since he lives there. Is it purely coincidental that Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn attended the game Thursday night with a group from the Tampa Economic Development Corporation, which was in New York on a business trip?????

[Tobywan]

This is an interesting 2 part interview of Stu Sternberg by Fox Sports delving into the new MLB diversity task force, the hope of a new stadium and finances.



Part 1

Part 2

[Tobywan]

Rays owner optimistic with breakthrough on stadium stalemate

[Tobywan]

The Rays Giants game on Sunday was a sell out, very unusual occurrence at Tropicana Field these days. The last sell out was Opening Day and there were a combination of possible factors. They were playing the defending World Series Champs and it was the first trip the Giants made to the Trop since June of 2004, they won that series. It was FSU day, many lower reserve sections were discounted along with a free hat give away for those areas. There was a meet & greet photo op on the field prior to the game, another rare occasion during regular season games along with the usual kid’s day specials on Sundays and a Rays back pack giveaway just in time for school.

The Rays attendance woes have been the big issue though for many seasons, only the Marlins draw less but they are in last place. They also got a brand new stadium with promises of big stars and winning ways only to have a fire sale before this season started and could easily be a front runner for 2013‘s “alienation of fans” award. The Rays have been putting a competitive product on the field with tighter purse strings, an out dated venue and for the most part no stars. While Evan Longoria and David Price have made names for themselves in the baseball world the rest of the names are virtually unknown outside Tampa Bay or real die hard across the board baseball fans around the country. Sam Fuld has made many web gem moments but I doubt he’s on many fantasy teams. Will Myers, Matt Moore and now Chris Archer could also be future names the baseball world will buzz about for a few seasons.

To continue the success of the Tampa Bay Rays in the modern business age of sports they need a new stadium. Not because the Trop is such an awful place, but it’s simply obsolete and on the wrong side of the bay. They have little corporate sponsorship which is a must in the current way sports teams are financed. The majority of Tampa folks just flat out refuse to support anything other than a collegiate team based outside Hillsborough County. A team based in Tampa/Hillsborough County stands a better chance at gaining both sponsorship and more bodies in sits instead of their recliners at home.

In a remarkable turnaround this has finally sunk in to ST Pete Mayor Bill Foster. He has now publicly conceded that for TB to keep the Rays in the region for the next generation they need to be allowed to look at possible sites in Tampa.


Foster sees the light.

While Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan has and continues to maintain that the money for a stadium in Tampa would have to largely come from private funding and the Rays organization, I personally think it will be funded in the same manner as Raymond James was for the Bucs. Any baseball stadium in this area will have to come with some form of a roof which is extremely expensive. By the time any site is agreed upon or deal planning there could be a lot of changes like who’s in the Mayor’s office and even on the County Commission. Perhaps a turn in the economy, the Bucs improving, the Lightning contending will warm local residents to the idea of bringing the Rays over even more. Tampa has always been involved heavily in bids for another Super Bowl and with that comes deals to fund improvements and enhancements to the area to get ready for the influx of media and fans ready to shine the spotlight and spend their money. If Tampa was chosen again they will implement another new “local improvement” tax and could shuffle some of that money towards the Rays. In addition someone will eventually come up with a deal to combine a new tax for a stadium bolstered by throwing other local recipients of monies like the police, fire departments, schools and roads into the mix just like they did before once a decision is made on a site.

History has a way of repeating itself and by the time this all gets debated, battled and played out somehow, someway, someone will find a way for this to happen if they are truly serious about holding onto to this team. It WILL take a combination of Rays, private and tax payer money, I don’t see a way around it.

[Tobywan]

Tampa Mayor Buckhorn and Hills. Co. commission chairman Ken Hagen haven’t wasted any time. They held a meeting Friday at Tampa City Hall to discuss how to prepare talks with the Rays once ST Pete Mayor Foster officially signs an agreement allowing to team to look for a stadium site in Tampa.

[Tobywan]

Oh brother! NOW that we got the sidestalking and Mayor F(r)oster is finally thawing on the idea of opening up to Tampa, Bud wants to stick his big fat nose in and get everybody in a tizzy!



MLB may need to intervene on issue of Rays Stadium.


Bud needs to keep his focus on drawing and quartering players over his ...cough...cough...outrage over PED use and coming up with more colorful excuses for the punishing of these "can't catch them with actual drug tests" cheaters. Stu will cal you when he needs you!

[Tobywan]

Hillsborough Commissioner wants to revive the area around old Tampa Greyhound Race track.

It's an interesting idea especially wanting to combine the site with a proposed stadium for USF, but I agree with Buckhorn that I think most will want to shoot for a site near downtown where it could draw a bit more "nightlife" especially on weekends. Perhaps even help draw people to a certain new restaurant that might be opening in October.

City counsil gives initial OK to Longo and partners new late-night eatery/bowling hangout.

[Tobywan]

Sternberg and Silverman meet with Tampa Bay Partnership



If what Stu and Matt say is true that the other owners are tired of the Rays taking revenue sharing money, that may be the reason Bud is once again trying to stick his nose in the stadium situation. This has been Stu's vision anyway, the hope that the Rays can generate a better long term stream of revenue by moving to the Tampa side, getting local corporate sponsorship and dollars and won't NEED the other owners. BUT, in the meantime, the revenue sharing program was put in place and designed to help teams that don't make a lot of money try to compete with the mega bucks teams like the Yankees. It's not like Stu takes the money and pockets it like many other team owners, he puts the money back in, he has people in place jumping through hoops to put a good product on the field. Many teams have been taking revenue just as long as the Rays and putting shitty teams on the field. If it's pissing them off so much they need to go back and bargain for a new stipulation that the teams getting the revenue have to account for that money and what's being done with it.

Of course this could be just a bit blown up to get things moving a bit faster between the the two counties.

[Slyder]

Where is Bud in that disaster and screw job that is South Florida and where's Bud's balls in the San Jose case? Theres bigger fish Bud SHOULD be frying IMO.

[Tobywan]

I agree, but Jeff helped Bud eliminate the Expos so he won't say boo to him, not sure why they won't get involved with the A's situation that NEEDS addressing.

[Tobywan]

A couple of weeks ago Mayor Foster and former councilman and state representative Rick Kriseman were the two men left standing in the ST Pete Mayoral race.


Foster says talks aren't going well.

The writer of this piece seems to suggest that Foster might be easier for the Rays to deal with, but everything I have read about Kriseman's views on the Rays and most importantly the lease between the Rays and the city seem more relaxed. Kriseman doesn't hold the idea that the lease is as "unbreakable" as Foster has tried to make everyone believe and appears to view the team as more of a regional asset than just St Pete.