Joe Henderson
What just happened with the Tampa Bay Rays stadium that was supposed to be built in Ybor City, except now there may not be enough money to make that happen?
Well, take your pick of multiple options and there’s no way to say now whether you are definitively right or wrong.
Does it open the door for those hoping to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg?
Absolutely, it does, especially since the three-year agreement that allowed the Rays to explore potential stadium sites throughout the Bay area expires at the end of this month and the team will not seek an extension. In theory, that gives St. Petersburg the upper hand again in any negotiations.
Are they doing Google searches in Montreal right now about Rays players and asking what how that goofy pitching thing they used called an “opener” works? Probably.
Is the stadium plan for Ybor dead?
It’s tempting to say yes, but Rays President Brian Auld wouldn’t go that far.
“Working for (owner) Stu Sternberg for the last decade you learn you never say never,” Auld said.
About the only things we can say for certain is there is no end game in sight for the Rays to get a new stadium as Hillsborough apparently doesn’t have the cash and/or political will to give the Rays what they want.
This whole thing blew up Tuesday with the release of a letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. To keep it in baseball terms, he delivered some chin music about the financing framework between Hillsborough the Rays.
In a letter to New York attorney Irwin Raij, who is part of the Hillsborough team trying to reach a deal with the Rays, Manfred said the county’s somewhat fuzzy and loose financing plan is “… lacking specific details that would be necessary for me and my staff to begin to understand the merits and feasibility of the proposal and the actual level of commitment being offered by your client, it is very difficult for me to take any position at this time.”
That’s the same concept that Administrator Mike Merrill submitted to County Commissioners last week, noting, “Our mission was to build a framework for a deal and this is the best we could come up with. We really need to hear from the Rays.”
I would say they just heard.
I’m sure the echoes were heard in St. Petersburg as well. Auld said he called St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman early Wednesday to let him know the letter was coming out.
Everything is in play now, including the possibility some other city will go coo-coo with a stadium giveaway that the Rays won’t be able to turn down. The Rays didn’t go there just yet and threaten to move out of the area, but you can be certain that won’t be far off if things don’t escalate quickly.
St. Petersburg has let it be known that it can provide the best chance for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium that will keep the team from moving. But the one thing that city can’t do is move closer to the center of the sprawling Tampa Bay market, and that has been the problem all along.
The proximity of a stadium to the greatest number of potential ticket-buyers is a major barometer for long-term success, and St. Pete can’t offer that. So, even the Tampa plan is not revived, and St. Pete offers whatever the Rays want in terms of a building, would it make sense to build?
After all, the Rays chronically horrible attendance isn’t because people can’t stand the team’s current Tropicana Field home. It’s just too far away from too many people to attend games more than occasionally.
On the other hand, it’s quicker to drive to St. Pete from Tampa than it would be to Montreal. So, there is that.
Place your bets on what’s going to happen next, but just don’t pretend anyone knows for sure.
Because they don’t.
