Rays Won't Seek State Aid For New Waterfront Ballpark

Rays Dropping Plans To Seek A $60M State Subsidy To Help Build New Ballpark

Rays Senior VP/Development & Business Affairs Michael Kalt yesterday said that the team has "scuttled plans to seek a $60[M] state subsidy to help pay for a new downtown waterfront stadium," according to a front-page piece by Sharockman & Bousquet of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. However, Kalt "insists the decision will not derail the team's overall proposal or its ambitious timetable." The Rays still hope to build a new $450M stadium on the site of Al Lang Field in time for the 2012 season. Kalt: "We said from the beginning that we don't see the state money as crucial. It's nice to have, but it's not essential. We're not in the business in pushing things through that we think are unrealistic." Sharockman & Bousquet note the majority of the 12-member Pinellas County delegation last week indicated that they were "unwilling or uninterested in aiding the Rays this spring." It is unclear whether the ballpark "would have to be redesigned to accommodate the loss of state funding." The Rays have hired lobbyist Brian Ballard "to monitor the team's interest" in the Florida state legislature (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 1/8).