St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman yesterday promoted a 43-page report the city prepared for the Rays outlining why the 85-acre Tropicana Field site is the "best place in the Tampa Bay region" for a new ballpark, according to Frago & Puente of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Kriseman said, "We told the Rays that their forever place is right here in St. Petersburg." The city "highlighted the advantages of staying put: traffic is worse in Tampa, and the team could potentially share in a cash bonanza by choosing to stay" at Tropicana Field and "split the site's lucrative development rights." The report also "included letters of support from 15 local companies." However, the report "lacked any financial details on how Kriseman plans to entice the team to stay." Referring to other potential ballpark sites in Tampa and Hillsborough, Kriseman said, "We have more pots of money available to us in St. Petersburg." Kriseman "urged fans to step up and show their support for the Rays by buying more tickets and encouraging family and friends to fill stadium seats this season." He said the city needs to "show them love now." The report was a "culmination of a year's work from the city's Baseball Forever campaign" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/6). In Tampa, Janelle Irwin reported the pitch highlights the site’s "vast potential as not only a good home" for the Rays that will "draw fans, but also one ripe for economic development." Kriseman’s proposal "addresses the Rays’ five areas of interest in a new ballpark -- catalyst for development, local authenticity, regional connectivity, site accessibility and size and geometry." One of the "key factors in site selection is how many fans can access home games within a 30-minute commute." The city "contracted HKS Architects to draft a site master plan" including a ballpark (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/5).
