Rays, Pinellas County Commission To Meet Next Month About Stadium Issues

Incoming Pinellas County (Fla.) Commission Chair Ken Welch on Thursday said that the commission has "set a tentative date of Jan. 29 to talk publicly with" the Rays about stadium issues, according to Stephen Nohlgren of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The idea of inviting the team "for a public question-and-answer session has been in the works for months." It is an "extension of informal discussions the Rays have held from time to time with individual commissioners." Pinellas County's hotel tax, which the commission controls, "helped finance Tropicana Field and might factor into any new stadium, as well." Welch said that the commission "also will invite St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and the City Council to the meeting" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/21).