A TAMPA BAY TIMES editorial questioned if the Rays should adopt St. Petersburg in its name as the team “negotiates to build a new stadium at the western edge of St. Petersburg’s downtown.” Most of the area’s professional sports franchises “have Tampa in their names, even the ones that don’t play” in that city. A name that reflects where the team actually plays its home games “would be good for the city,” but a St. Petersburg Rays “would be good for the region, too.” What is “good for St. Petersburg can be good for Tampa Bay," as giving St. Petersburg’s brand a “boost on a national scale helps the entire region.” Adopting St. Pete as the name is the “opposite of being parochial.” It makes “more people in more places aware of Tampa Bay’s robust offerings -- for tourists and businesses alike.” The name would “etch St. Petersburg into the national consciousness in ways that no amount of expensive advertising can accomplish.” Leaving the Rays’ name the same does "little to help further promote the region.” However, changing the name will “help push St. Petersburg into the national limelight” and that is a “boost for the entire Tampa Bay area” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/15).
MORE THAN A NAME: Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker in an op-ed for the TAMPA BAY TIMES writes if the Rays’ proposed ballpark deal is accepted by the St. Petersburg City Council and the Pinellas County Commission, the “taxpayer subsidy of the enterprise will be enormous,” as the city and county "will be contributing” $1.29B. Baker wondered why taxpayers would "invest over a billion dollars for a team named after Tampa." It is “silly to argue that the outside world sees any difference between the names Tampa Bay and Tampa.” The Rays in their proposal have “generously offered to allow the team to wear jerseys that say St. Petersburg Rays for one of the 162 games each year.” But whichever city “provides the land and funding should get the name of the team 162 out of 162 games per year.” When IndyCar came to St. Petersburg, the city “required that the race be named after St. Petersburg,” and it is now “respected and known throughout the racing world and has lifted our city’s image considerably.” Baker: “If the Rays and/or MLB have so little respect for our city that they refuse to name the team St. Petersburg Rays, perhaps they should find another place to play” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/15).
