Clutch Hitters, a Tampa Bay group promoting the Rays to area companies, is “now swinging for something bigger -- a new stadium,” according to David DeCamp of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. Group leaders “will meet with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster on Aug. 10, hoping to end the standoff between the city and the team over building a replacement for Tropicana Field.” Clutch Hitters, which “includes 75 bay area business leaders, began a public campaign last year to boost corporate investment in suites and tickets to see the Rays play.” Group members this summer visited other MLB ballparks and “that led the group to take a more aggressive stand on keeping Major League Baseball” in the Tampa Bay area. The group “isn't proposing a specific location -- or for that matter, a plan to pay for a new stadium that could cost as much as $600 million.” Kenny Locke, who sits on the Clutch Hitters' steering committee, said that the group has “met with the Rays, who are not actively involved but are ‘appreciative’ of the effort” (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 8/3).
