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Until now, it has all been preamble. Or posturing, if you prefer.
The Tampa Bay Rays have spent years implying they want to move to a new neighborhood, and the mayor has spent months acting fearless and firm.
It has been the high-stakes equivalent of a staredown on the playground, but it is time for Tampa Bay to move on.
And time for the mayor to lead us there.
St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has a meeting scheduled with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg next week to discuss the impasse on the stadium issue.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that the mayor roll over. There is no reason for that. He has a terrific lease at Tropicana Field, and he should use it to his greatest benefit.
But he needs to recognize the lease will be half-over by the end of the year, and the Rays are going to pay less and less to get out of it as the expiration date draws nearer.
He also needs to understand that the Rays will not stay at Tropicana Field. They certainly won't be there in 2028, and may try to break the lease as time becomes an ally.
So Foster needs to ask: What's the endgame?
Do you want to keep waving the lease until the day the Rays leave town, or do you want to parlay that lease into something beneficial for everyone involved?
Do you want to be proactive and work a deal that might increase revenues with redevelopment at the Trop site, or do you want to perpetuate a national perception of St. Pete as a wannabe city?
It has been two years since the ABC Coalition concluded a new stadium was needed and that the Gateway area, West Tampa and downtown Tampa were the best solutions.
Sternberg has refused to consider Gateway without also being allowed to look at sites in Hillsborough County. Foster has refused to grant him permission to look beyond Pinellas.
And we have been stuck in this melodrama for too long.
So what should Foster say to break this stalemate?
He should tell Sternberg he considers the Rays to be important business partners. And he hasn't given up on the idea of baseball in his town.
But if his business partner wants to look at sites in Hillsborough, the mayor will not stand in the way as long as the Rays make some concessions.
First of all, they need to sign a contract that acknowledges that such a move in no way weakens the lease at Tropicana. Since the Rays signed a similar document when looking at a waterfront site, this shouldn't be a problem.
The Rays also need to put up $1 million in earnest money for the privilege of talking to Tampa. Again, this shouldn't be much of a deal breaker.
Finally, should the Rays eventually decide that moving to downtown Tampa is integral to the franchise's future, they must agree to allow St. Pete to view their finances to prove this is true. I'm betting that one will be sticky.
If so, Foster can make the argument that he is being asked to give up a valuable commodity, and seeking verification is not an outlandish request. If the Rays don't agree, they can come up with an alternative of their own.
At the very least, this starts the conversation. It acknowledges a problem exists, but it does not relinquish any negotiating power.
Being fearless and firm are attractive qualities in a mayor.
So is being visionary and resourceful.
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