St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman "is lobbying the City Council on a revised agreement" with the Rays "with the hope of securing enough votes to allow the team to look" at possible ballpark sites in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, according to Charlie Frago of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. But St. Pete Communications Dir Ben Kirby yesterday said that the mayor "won't bring the new deal to a council meeting unless he thinks he has a chance at success." Kirby: "He'll be calling all the council members in the next several days. The hope is council members will have a comfort level to vote yes." Frago notes it is "not apparent that development rights are still the main obstacle." Rays Owner Stu Sternberg said that no team officials "would be present at the next vote" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/25). Meanwhile, a TAMPA BAY TIMES editorial states Sternberg "is right on the substance of how to resolve the stadium stalemate even as he loses significant style points." Sternberg says that the Rays "do not want any money from development rights at Tropicana Field." Yet the "significance of Sternberg's remarks is overshadowed by his declaration that neither he nor the Rays staff will attend another council meeting, which comes off as insensitive and arrogant." While Sternberg's "substantive points are fair and reasonable, his lack of appreciation for local politics and community sensibilities undercuts his message." Council members "already are sensitive about being taken for granted and put off by a perceived air of superiority from a wealthy team owner" who lives in N.Y. Refusing to "talk to them at a public meeting does not help, particularly when some former elected officials and community activists urge council members to reject any deal with the Rays" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/25).
