Kriseman hoping to have Rays agreement by Opening Day

ST. PETERSBURG---Mayor Rick Kriseman emerged from a meeting with the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday saying he hoped to have an agreement to let the team look for new stadium sites in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties by Opening Day.

The meeting between Kriseman and team president Brian Auld at the Rays offices at Tropicana Field lasted about an hour. Afterward, both sides struck positive, but vague, postures. Kriseman acknowledged that the discussion centered on the Rays' right under the current contract with the city to a 50-50 split of development rights for the Tropicana site. That issue contributed to the 3-5 city council vote in December that scuttled an earlier agreement Kriseman and Auld had worked out.

"We look forward to having an agreement that Council can approve before Opening Day," read a statement from Kriseman's office.