Joe Henderson: The clock is running for the Rays to get moving on a new stadium

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of Major League Baseball’s most innovative and forward-thinking organizations. Not only avoiding most of the travails that doom small-market clubs to mediocrity, the Rays consistently punch above their weight against the big boys.

That said, owner Stu Sternberg outsmarted himself with his cockamamie “sister city” idea with Montreal, and that has put his franchise in a pickle.

MLB formally ended Sternberg’s fantasy of a split-season relationship between Tampa Bay and that lovely Canadian city. Starting in 2028, after the Rays’ lease at Tropicana Field mercifully expires, Sternberg proposed playing the first half of future seasons somewhere in the Bay area, then hopping to Montreal for the remainder of the year’s games.

Of course, the idea was contingent on getting both communities to build stadiums for the team, and, as we know all too well, that’s a tough sell around here.

For the time being, Sternberg says he will concentrate on getting a full-season stadium somewhere in Tampa or St. Petersburg. However, he has been at that since he took over the team in 2005 and, well, he concedes area fans may have an advanced case of stadium fatigue.

What to do?

Tampa’s Ybor City is the better location, but St. Petersburg is likely more able to help pay for a new ballyard.

However, leaders in both locales know better than to give a professional sports team a blank check and a sweetheart lease. That’s the quickest way to become a “former” leader.

Throughout this process, Sternberg has been fuzzy about how much he is willing to pay for a stadium. That led to the collapse of two plans and could threaten a third if he plays the same game. But he no longer has the luxury of time. He needs to pick a spot and get serious about partnering with leaders instead of dictating to them.

Forget about getting general tax money from either side of the bay. That’s a nonstarter.

Tourist tax money?

Maybe, but the hotel and travel industry may not go along.

It’s complicated, and the Rays just wasted 2 ½ years on a silly idea.

And there is the not-insignificant issue that Sternberg has essentially trashed the area’s ability to support a team fully. Yeah, attendance is lousy, but the Trop is in a lousy location for a franchise that needs Hillsborough County fans to catch more than the occasional game.

Also, one of Sternberg’s key selling points on the split-season idea was that it gets really hot here in the summer. It also rains a lot. However, putting a fixed roof on a stadium adds millions to the cost.

Well, here’s an idea.

In 2007, the Rays proposed what came to be known as the “sailboat stadium” in St. Pete. It was an open-air ballpark but with a canvas covering that could be raised if rain was coming — kind of like an umbrella.

Well, those old blueprints are probably hanging around somewhere. Find ’em.

As far as Florida’s torturous summer heat, there are modern cooling solutions that didn’t exist in 2007. Summers are brutal in Atlanta too, but the Braves’ new stadium solved that problem with systems to keep fans comfortable.

A baseball franchise has value for the entire area, so it’s worth the effort to find a solution that works for everyone. The clock is running, and Sternberg has a lot of catching up to do.