After ceding planning of a new ballpark to a community group — with mixed results — the Tampa Bay Rays ownership says they're ready to jump back into the fray and begin talks with local municipalities about the location and funding of a Tropicana Field replacement. First stop: St. Petersburg.
After ceding planning of a new ballpark to a community group — with mixed results — the Tampa Bay Rays ownership says they're ready to jump back into the fray and begin talks with local municipalities about the location and funding of a Tropicana Field replacement.
First stop: St. Petersburg, where city officials were once enthused about putting a Rays ballpark on the Al Lang Field site. We're told that site's not necessarily off the table, but it's not the most desirable option on the table, either. The community group (ABC) evaluating ballpark sites didn't consider it, and that group in general wasn't enthused about downtown St. Pete: they recommended as one of their three preferred sites a plot of land in north St. Pete, closer to the population centers of Tampa and Clearwater.
St. Pete has one huge negotiating chip: the Rays' lease at the Trop , considered iron-clad by most in the industry, runs through 2027. So any solution has to address the financials of the lease (paying off debt service, basically) and appease St. Pete officials. In other words, the road to any Rays ballpark solution runs through downtown St. Petersburg — which is why the serious part of the discussions are beginning there.
RELATED STORIES: Rays ballpark brawl: Tampa versus St. Pete; Three Rays ballpark sites recommended by committee; New Rays ballpark discussion shifts to Tampa; Group: Any new Rays ballpark needs retractable roof; Group: Renovating Trop isn't option in keeping Rays; Rays task force may have prelim recommendations by June — but no site; Rays propose Carillon Town Center site for ballpark
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