Oldsmar mayor Doug Bevis is stepping up his city’s effort to lure the Tampa Bay Rays, as he unveiled a ballpark plan on Thursday.
It was recently reported that Bevis planned to propose a concept for a Rays ballpark, which would be located just west of Tampa Bay Downs. Using 120 acres, the project would include the construction of a new ballpark and surrounding mixed-use development.
While this plan would give the Rays some opportunities to develop the area around the facility, a few questions remain. Oldsmar’s location just west of the Pinellas/Hillsborough county line could enable it to leverage funding from both counties, but that is far from assured. Additionally Oldsmar is about 16 miles north of downtown Tampa and even further from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and, while it was previously discussed as a site by Pinellas County, it remains to be seen if the Rays want something closer to one of the cities.
The Rays did send a representative, vice president of operations Rick Nafe, to Thursday’s presentation, and he offered some complimentary words. More from the Tampa Bay Times:
Nafe described it as “impressive.”
“It will be one of the sites we look at as we go through our due diligence,” he said.
The Rays have yet to commit to a site, so that leaves the door open for more pitches from both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Rendering courtesy FSA Inc. Architecture/Construction
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