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Editorial: For now, hope springs eternal in Rays stadium search

 
Published Feb. 5, 2016

This is the fun part. Imagining a new baseball stadium that looks toward the future rather than the past. Creating new visions for blending professional sports into the surrounding community. Working together to keep the Tampa Bay Rays as a regional asset, and dwelling on the possibilities rather than the obstacles.

Rays officials met with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and others Friday for the first time since the St. Petersburg City Council voted last month to let the franchise explore stadium sites in both counties. As the agreement with St. Petersburg requires, the team also has released a one-page description of how it will evaluate potential locations. The good news: There is flexibility in the general guidelines, and there is plenty of room for multiple sites in both Hillsborough and Pinellas to compete — including Tropicana Field's 85 acres in St. Petersburg.

In tone and substance, the Rays' process and the initial meeting with Hillsborough officials provide a smart start to a long process certain to evolve over the next year or so. For fans scoring at home, here are five areas to watch:

• Stadium design. Forget retro. Think cutting edge that reflects Tampa Bay. There may be a retractable roof, or not. There may be real grass and no upper deck. Expects lots of technology, different types of experiences and different uses beyond Rays games.

• Development. This won't be another stadium plopped in the middle of huge parking lots. Focus on sites that offer opportunities to develop retail, restaurants and businesses around a stadium. Look for developers to pop up in both counties.

• Transportation. There has to be easy access. There has to be parking within walking distance, which probably means parking garages. There should be access to mass transit.

• Funding. It's going to take multiple sources from taxpayers and a substantial investment by the Rays. Even then there is likely to be a funding gap, which could be covered by development around the stadium. Expect other players to emerge.

• Vision. This is an opportunity for local officials and business leaders to use a new stadium as a catalyst to pursue complementary goals, from redevelopment to new business to more public spaces to better transit.

The Rays sound open to exploring new ideas. So should elected officials and the business community, who can approach the stadium issue as a broad opportunity that stretches beyond baseball.