The Rays opened their 20th season yesterday, but what they "haven't yet done" is prove if MLB "can be successful in the Tampa Bay market," according to Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. It will take "time to work through the bureaucratic, political, legal and financial issues" of getting a new ballpark built to "theoretically provide them with greater revenues than Tropicana Field and allow them to be more competitive." Time also is needed for the "generation of fans who grew up calling the Rays their own to mature into ticket buyers" -- boosting what has been "among the majors' lowest attendance ... including dead last in four of the past five seasons." The longer it "takes for progress," the more "speculation will amplify the team could end up leaving." MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said of the Rays, "The rest of the operation, as evidenced by the success that they had not that many years ago, I believe is a strong, professional organization. And if they had the support I believe would come with a new facility, the Rays would be just fine for the long haul" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/2). A TAMPA BAY TIMES editorial was written under the header, "More Urgency Needed On Rays Stadium Search." By Opening Day in '18, there "should be a site selected for the next Rays ballpark and a general agreement on how to pay for it." The continuing uncertainty is "unhealthy for the Rays and for a region that is enjoying a growth spurt but cannot afford to lose major-league baseball" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/31).
MONTREAL HOLDING OUT HOPE: The Blue Jays this past weekend played another pair of exhibition games at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, and SPORTSNET.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote aside from the "sheer volume of fans in attendance, what stands out most" might be the "amount of emotion on display." The crowds were "loud, filling Olympic Stadium with noise." Three years after baseball "first returned to Montreal, the fans who fill Olympic Stadium still don’t know whether the Expos will ever return." There is "no less hope than before, but Montreal’s chances of getting a baseball team are inextricably tied" to the ongoing ballpark searches for the Rays and A's (SPORTSNET.ca, 3/31). In Toronto, Steve Simmons wrote, "In between the media cheerleading and the honest attempt by well-heeled business people to bring a second Major League team to Canada lives the reality: Baseball has no plans to add another franchise. And baseball has no plans, at this time, to have any of its franchises move" (TORONTO SUN, 4/2).
