Rays to fans: ‘We desperately want to stay in Tampa Bay’

The Rays’ efforts to gain public support for their proposal to split seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal started with a press conference at the Dali Museum on Tuesday and continued Wednesday with an email to supporters.

Here’s the text of that email:

Dear Rays Fans:

We appreciate your support of Rays baseball. Last week, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that MLB is supportive of the Tampa Bay Rays exploring a sister city model with Montreal.

On Tuesday, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg spoke at the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg about the club’s desire to research a bold, innovative, shared-season model that allows the team to stay in Tampa Bay.

“We’re asking for open minds,” said Sternberg. “We want to do this because we are champions of Tampa Bay. We believe in Tampa Bay, we live in Tampa Bay, we desperately want the Rays to stay in Tampa Bay.”

This concept is in the very preliminary stages of its development. As we move forward, we expect to find answers to the myriad questions that will bring us closer to our goal of keeping major league baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come.

Again, we thank you for your support of the Rays, and we ask that you consider this new and innovative idea with an open mind.

Rays Up!

Matt Silverman, President

Brian Auld, President