ST. PETERSBURG — It's official. The City of St. Petersburg sent a formal letter Friday to the Tampa Bay Rays, inviting them to a presentation next month by a private company pitching a new baseball stadium in Carillon business park.
The letter also offers to amend the team's contract with the city to allow the Rays to negotiate with the company, CityScape, or others about a new stadium — as long as the would-be site lies in St. Petersburg or adjacent land in the Gateway area.
Rays officials have said they are not interested in talking about new stadium sites unless the city frees them to pursue sites anywhere in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays declined to comment Monday about Friday's invitation.