A one-week delay in the St. Petersburg City Council's vote on an agreement between Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rays to break the stadium stalemate is not the end of the world. It also is not an indication that the reasonable compromise is going to get substantially better. Instead, the delay gives residents time to get comfortable with the deal to let the Rays look for stadium sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and it gives council members an opportunity to reflect on the importance of acting in the best interests of St. Petersburg and the region.
The reality is that St. Petersburg voters sent a clear message a year ago. They fired incumbent Mayor Bill Foster, who bragged of secret plans for a Rays stadium deal but proved to be an obstructionist who lacked the sophistication and creativity to compromise with the team. They elected Kriseman, who pledged during the campaign to find a fair solution that would protect city taxpayers and enable the Rays to look for a stadium site throughout their core market. In less than a year, Kriseman has delivered what Foster could not pull off in four years.
There are reasons why the new mayor has a signed deal with the Rays and his predecessor left behind only hard feelings. Kriseman rebuilt trust with Rays officials that had been badly damaged by Foster. He sought fresh legal advice about how to compromise without weakening the city's lease with the Rays to play in Tropicana Field until 2027. He ultimately embraced the concept Foster was pursuing — payments from the Rays for each year left on the Trop lease when they leave — but accepted realistic payments and did not get bogged down in minutiae.
Kriseman acted in the city's best interests, viewed the Rays as a regional asset and looked toward a future of exciting development possibilities for the Tropicana site with or without a new stadium there. Foster, judging by his nitpicking memo to City Council members opposing Kriseman's agreement, still cannot see beyond the city limits and worries whether the outdated Trop needs a new roof.
Here is another reality for St. Petersburg City Council members: The Rays need a new stadium, and they will not be playing in Tropicana Field until 2027. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg made it clear this week he doesn't expect to own the team in 2023 if there is no new stadium by then in Tampa Bay. The only way to keep Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay is to let the franchise look for stadium sites on both sides of the bay. The time to approve an agreement to start looking is now, because the city's negotiating leverage declines with every year that clicks by.
This is a more thoughtful, progressive City Council than some from other eras in St. Petersburg. Working with Kriseman this year, the council has resolved issues that have festered for years, from ending a dispute with the county over emergency medical services to supporting universal curbside recycling. Most council members can look beyond the next meeting agenda or city election toward a long-term vision for St. Petersburg. Most understand it is in the best interest of their constituents to work with other local governments and take a regional approach toward regional issues.
The agreement between the mayor and the Rays is one of those regional issues. It's fine for the council to vote on it next week instead of today. The more they review the deal and contemplate the future, the more likely they will recognize this agreement protects taxpayers and creates clarity about the way forward to keep Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay.