St. Pete Leaders Urge New, Centrally Located Ballpark For Rays

Proposed Rays Ballpark On Tampa Waterfront Was Rejected Last Year

A group of St. Petersburg business and community leaders yesterday said that the Rays need a "new, centrally located baseball stadium and planning should begin soon," according to Stephen Nohlgren of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. The 11-member ABC Coalition, which has "studied the stadium issue for 18 months, approved its final report Monday, which it hopes to present to St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials over the next few weeks." The report has "no legal standing and acknowledges that a sour economy and scarce tax revenues preclude construction anytime soon." But ABC said losing the Rays is a "real possibility" without a new ballpark, and it would cause "irreparable damage to the economic, social and cultural well-being of the region." St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, who has yet to read the report, emphasized that the Rays have a "contractual obligation to play their games at Tropicana Field through the 2026 season." But Foster conceded, "Reading the tea leaves, we don't believe (the Rays) will make it through that season without some discussion of stadium suitability" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 1/26). WFTS-ABC's Tom Korun wrote of the report, "Do you think that Pinellas or Hillsborough County taxpayers are going to pay the freight for this thing, now? Don't think so." Rays ownership will have to "pony up some of their own money to get this new home built" (ABCACTIONNEWS.com, 1/25).

WELCOME TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM? In Orlando, Andrea Adelson reports Republican congressional candidate Armando Gutierrez has "caused a stir with his idea to bring a baseball team to the area, but there are many hurdles that must be overcome before fans can even start thinking about eating Cracker Jack and watching the boys of summer." Gutierrez yesterday claimed that he has a "group of investors interested in making the move happen," but declined to name the investors, "potential teams that are on his radar or whether he has been in contact" with MLB. He said, "I'm not going to get into any specifics as far as scenarios. The goal is to get a Major League Baseball team in Orlando. We're trying to unravel all the other hurdles that may exist." Adelson notes the team would need a "new or renovated stadium, costing hundreds of millions of dollars to start." Given the way fans have "failed to support the Rays or the Marlins in this state, there are questions about whether there is enough interest in Central Florida to field a team." Relocation would seem to be the "only option for getting a team" to Orlando, and the Rays "could be a candidate, considering their lousy attendance figures." The Rays declined to comment on the matter. Adelson notes two previous efforts to bring an MLB club to Orlando "have failed, both in the 1990s and both because Orlando did not have the stadium or the fan support MLB wanted to see" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/26).