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Editorial: Time to break Rays stadium stalemate

 
It’s time for the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to change the narrative about the future of major-league baseball here. The smartest way is for the Rays and the city to move forward now with a fair agreement to let the franchise start looking for a new stadium site in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
It’s time for the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to change the narrative about the future of major-league baseball here. The smartest way is for the Rays and the city to move forward now with a fair agreement to let the franchise start looking for a new stadium site in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Published Nov. 7, 2014

It's time for the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to change the narrative about the future of major-league baseball here. The Rays have had a rough offseason so far, losing a top executive and manager Joe Maddon and enduring the predictable sniping about an outdated stadium and low attendance. The smartest way to stem the negative talk is for the Rays and the city to move forward now with a fair agreement to let the franchise start looking for a new stadium site in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

While the city and the team are remaining quiet as they continue to negotiate the details, both sides remain encouraged by the private discussions about breaking the stadium stalemate that has dragged on for years. The city will be sure to protect its stadium use agreement with the Rays, and the City Council likely will have to approve any separate deal to let the stadium site search start.

Kriseman recognizes that it is not in the best interest of city and county taxpayers to cling to the status quo. Every week that passes without a deal is a week that ticks off the Tropicana Field lease and weakens the city's hand. The Rays are not going to be playing in the outdated Trop when their lease expires in 2027, and there will come a point when the team could calculate it makes more financial sense to break the lease than keep drawing small crowds and waiting for a new stadium. The Oakland A's recently signed a stadium lease extension, moving the Rays to the top of the short list of teams with stadium issues. The incoming baseball commissioner is described as engaged and up to date on the Tampa Bay stadium situation, and he can be expected to increase the pressure to move forward.

The real pressure to break the stadium impasse is from external forces in Tampa Bay. In Pinellas County, other interests are eyeing the resort tax money that will become available when Tropicana Field bonds are paid off next year. That revenue stream would be needed to help pay for any new stadium in Pinellas. In Hillsborough County, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is moving forward with his downtown Tampa development plans and shows no interest in making room for a baseball stadium. Potential revenue streams that could pay for a new stadium in Hillsborough also are being looked at for other uses. Tampa Bay development is moving forward as the stadium issue stands still, and options will be foreclosed by inaction.

The timing is also ripe for St. Petersburg to take advantage of keen interest in downtown redevelopment. Perhaps part of a deal to let the Rays look at other stadium sites could enable the city to start exploring development opportunities on part of the Trop land.

Evaluating potential stadium sites takes time and money. Even after a site is found, it would take years to fund, design and build a stadium that likely would cost $500 million or more. The Rays need to look in both counties to find a site that offers the best potential for securing baseball's long-term future in Tampa Bay, and the mayor and team officials should find a way forward before Christmas.