Signs of trouble for Rays' stadium proposal?

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To borrow from Phil Rizzuto and Harry Caray: Holy cow! Is the baseball stadium in trouble?

The events of the past few days suggest some distance between the Tampa Bay Rays on the one hand, and the city and county governments on the other.

The chairman of the St. Petersburg City Council, James Bennett, went out of his way to question the financial aspects of the deal.

The city's staff just issued a 45-page report questioning whether a new 34,000-seat stadium can work on the cramped site, and proposing design changes.

And then there's the matter of the Pinellas County government, which is miffed at being taken for granted even though its approval is vital.

None of this means that the stadium is dead — or that it is a bad idea. Maybe it's still a great idea. But this does mean the local governments are at least not openly behaving like pushovers.

The relations between the Rays and the county government are especially interesting, and a little puzzling.

It seems clear now that any stadium deal will require the continued participation of Pinellas County through its hotel tax.

But the team has not had nearly the level of contact with the county as it has had with the city. Maybe the assumption was that the county's approval would be an afterthought.

(And you know, maybe that was a reasonable calculation. It's hard to imagine the County Commission having the guts to be the lonely, decisive "no" vote if all the other pieces are in place.)

Still, an extension of the county's hotel tax to pay for the stadium would be a "new" tax in my book, contrary to the original assurances.

As for the city, I gotta say, the latest report sent by the staff to Mayor Rick Baker was a frank and level-headed assessment, the opposite of a gushing love note — and it found the Rays' plan lacking.

In particular, the city disagrees with the Rays' cheerful assessments about parking availability and the ease of walking up to three-quarters of a mile from a parking spot to the stadium on sultry Florida evenings.

The staff also objects to the Rays' initial proposal to nestle team offices and parking on the northern edge of the Mahaffey Theater, and suggests several other design changes. (I'll put a copy of the report on my blog as well.)

The staff's conclusion is that "it may be challenging to accommodate the proposed stadium on the Al Lang site."

I think the clock is running out faster than our friends in the Rays' front office admit. Until now, there has been a bit of an attitude of, "Don't worry, all these pesky details will be revealed in time. Just enjoy the drawings and the Kevin Costner commercials."

Issues: the Tropicana Field deal. Financing for the new stadium — and ironclad protections for the taxpayers. Site plan. Parking. Environmental impacts. The City Council has to take its first step toward calling an election on June 5. That is 44 days away.

I hope you'll stop by between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. today for a two-hour live Web chat on all things related to the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed baseball stadium.

Feel free to jump in at blogs.tampabay.com/troxler with questions or comments, or just stop by to see what people are saying.

Comments on this article

by Smilin'	Apr 24, 2008 11:49 AM
Let's not put off the Nov. Vote, in fact let's vote now! As the Republicans say, give the populace a straight up or down vote. Let's go! At this time though, spin doctors will come up with a reason to delay the Nov. vote.

by Vinny	Apr 24, 2008 9:15 AM
I expect rumors; Rays leaving T.B., good ridence, not enough fan base that cares to support the team, never was. That why the City changed city governance laws for the 1st. stadium, to avoid a vote. Use that $1,000,000,000 for levies, sea rise

by dittohead	Apr 23, 2008 5:12 PM
In an economy that is struggling for people to buy food and gas I can't believe the people of Pinellas can even consider replacing a stadium that is only ten years old. It has never been full. As a native I can't bear to see the waterfront

by Tom	Apr 23, 2008 5:11 PM
Why don't we wear out the 1st stadium before we build another? Also, who's the idiot who thinks sitting in 90+ degree weather in the high summer is better than the Trop? That is in itself enough to keep people away.

by chuck	Apr 23, 2008 3:33 PM
are the owners going to park 45 min away?are they going to sit in the 100 degree seatss? what is wrong with the current place?its cool,it dont rain ,we can see the feild,the team wont get better,,call the county commisioners

by jim	Apr 23, 2008 1:42 PM
Best statement above. If the county commission had the GUTS to decide the vote. They didn't have the GUTS to say no to taking over the Trop either.They all should be replaced.

by Cathy	Apr 23, 2008 11:05 AM
It's really about time our city & county governments got with the "of the people, by the people, for the people" thing. The Rays are a CORPORATION-not "the people". The Rays don't vote - "the people&

by Debbie	Apr 22, 2008 8:18 PM
If the Rays think a new stadium is such a great idea, let them pay for it! Do they really think in this economy some other city will cough up the money?! If they can find one, I've got a waterfront lot on the moon for sale.....

by Matthew Lawson	Apr 22, 2008 5:53 PM
"There's been a bit of an attitude" you say? You bet there is - it's the Rays attitude that they are somehow "owed" a stadium payed for by taxpayers on taxpayers land so they can get rich. Not with my money you don&

by FRED	Apr 22, 2008 5:05 PM
Bad idea. 1) It is even FARTHER from the center of population (TAMPA and vicinity). 2) You will have to SEARCH for parking. 3) Most folks prefer to watch in AC comfort. 4) Rain will keep people from planning to go when t

by TOM	Apr 22, 2008 12:51 PM
Shelve the deal until the Rays win a world series. It will never come to pass.

by David	Apr 22, 2008 11:33 AM
This is a dumb idea from every standpoint except for the owners profits. There are enough code and permit violations with greed driven house flippers, we certainly don't need any on this scale.

by Thorny	Apr 22, 2008 9:12 AM
Its a poor workman that blames his tools and its a crappy team that blames their stadium. Wheres the crowd? If you build it - they still wont come.

by Steve	Apr 22, 2008 8:41 AM
If the City thinks resolving those "pesky little details" (in Ray's plans) can be accomodated by throwing out in "wholesale" fashion our zoning/parking req'mts. & writing up special new ones for the Ray

by estelle	Apr 22, 2008 8:41 AM
In an economy that is struggling for people to buy food and gas I can't believe the people of Pinellas can even consider replacing a stadium that is only ten years old. It has never been full. As a native I can't bear to see the waterfront

by Get Smart	Apr 22, 2008 8:41 AM
The council members and commissioners are just stalling for a larger Rays payday. They'll make it fit.