Chamber group hearing of possible delays

Just got off the phone a little while ago with Steve Raymund (pictured), chairman of the board of Tech Data Corp. and co-chair of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce's baseball task force.

Raymund is leading a group of 35 business, neighborhood and civic leaders who are examining the Rays' proposal. The group is hoping to release some of its finding sometime in May.

Though he wouldn't say much, Raymund offered a couple of interesting morsels of new information. Among them:

* On the parking and traffic analysis, which Raymund admits the chamber is furthest along on: "I can tell you we found some faults in the Rays study."

* On the possible June 5 vote to begin the process of scheduling a referendum: "There’s still so much more information that needs to come out and not a lot of time to thoroughly vet it. June 5th may be not be the final date. It could extend beyond that."

What does that mean? Raymund said he's heard some talk about possibly delaying the vote, or at least pushing back a decision on a referendum.

That could be interpreted different ways. It could simply mean that the Rays will argue the actual decision day for a referendum isn't until Aug. 7 (when the council votes to actually authorize a November ballot item). Or it could mean something bigger is happening here.

We're hoping to hear more from the chamber in a week or so.

Forbes says Rays made $29.7-million last year; team officials dispute report

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of Major League Baseball's least valuable franchises, but the team still made a nearly $30-million profit last year, according to a recent Forbes examination of the finances of Major League Baseball's 30 teams.

In fact, according to Forbes, only four teams made more money than the Rays -- the Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Florida Marlins.

On the flip side, Forbes pegs the value of the Rays franchise at $290-million -- up eight percent from last year, but still 29th in Major League Baseball.

This news came out a couple of weeks back, but since we didn't have a blog then, we didn't have a place to post it. The Rays, and all of Major League Baseball, say the Forbes rankings are inaccurate, because they fail to account for some of the team's debt payments and other expenses.

Rays officials say they have actually lost between $20-million and $30-million since 2005, and are expecting to lose money again this season. You can see the full Forbes analysis here.

(We asked the Rays if they would be willing to open their books for our examination; they have so far declined).

Heatcheck Wednesday

One of the standing features here at Ballpark Frankness will be "Heatcheck Wednesday." It is exactly what it sounds like. Each Wednesday, we'll look at the past week's Rays home games and wonder how tolerable they would have been, had they been played outdoors.

Couple of caveats to the methodology. First, we acknowledge the Rays say they will be able to make the ballpark cooler than if people were actually sitting outside. Also, we know the games aren't played on the same day every year, nor is the temperature the same every day of every year. And we know there will be a fabric roof to prevent rainouts (but we decided to track how many rainy game nights fans may be in for).

So you know, we're making our unscientific measurements at game time. We're grouping things into three categories: How you feeling? Hot. Hot. Hot.; Hot, but nothing a cold beverage couldn't cure; Take me out to the ball game.

Here are the totals since the start of the season. (Can you belive we've already played 17 out of the season's 81 home games?)

First totals

How you feeling? Hot. Hot. Hot. ---- 0

Hot, but nothing a cold beverage couldn't cure. ---- 0

Take me out the ball game. ---- 17

Also, so far we've had no really rainy nights.

So far, there is no really debate. St. Petersburg, even on most afternoons, is pleasant in April. We'll find out if May -- when the Rays play at home 16 times -- is a different story.

Let the show begin

Welcome to Ballpark Frankness, tampabay.com's newest blog. If you couldn't figure it out, we'll be here talking about the Tampa Bay Rays' $450-million proposal to build a waterfront ballpark in downtown St. Petersburg.

The plan for this blog is simple. We're hoping to have three or so posts a day, some fun, some serious. We'll launch a poll every once in awhile, keep track of the temperature and humidity outside and spend days trying to find a place to park. We'll solicit your input along with the thoughts of the Rays and POWW and whoever else may have something to say.

This blog also will be the one place where we post the news of the day related to the stadium debate. And sometimes, we'll give you a peek of what we're working on for tomorrow's paper edition (No secret negotiations here)!

And we'll be here until November, or at least until we stop talking about a new stadium.

The only ground rule: let's try to keep things civil. Don't attack the people, attack the ideas.

So with that out of the way, let's play ball!

Developer Hines meets with Times ed board

Hines senior vice president Michael Harrison spent nearly an hour with members of the St. Petersburg Times editorial board Tuesday morning answering questions about his company's proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field.

Among the highlights:

* Harrison said he would not, nor would any developer, guarantee to the city that Hines make its tax revenue projections for the project. Hines is estimating $858-million in new tax revenues over a 35-year period the development. Those projections are critical to the Rays' plan to finance a $450-million waterfront ballpark;

* Homes in the Hines project would start in the mid-200's, with condominiums going for up to $600,000 The company wants to build 1,173 homes;

* According to Harrison, the company already has spent "several hundred thousands of dollars" developing its plan;

* If chosen as the developer, Hines will campaign for its project ahead of a possible November referendum.

Harrison also criticized the bid of his competitor Archstone-Madison, calling their design "fractured."

BOTTOM LINE: It'll be interesting to see what the city asks for in the way of a guarantee and what Hines and Archstone-Madison are willing to offer. If developers won't come to the table, will the Rays have to? Or will the potential deal be too good for city leaders to pass up?

Mayor recommends negotiating with two Trop developers; Williams Quarter may be out

Mayor Rick Baker is recommending the city negotiate possible deals with two of the three developers bidding to purchase Tropicana Field. In are Hines and Archstone-Madison; out is Williams Quarter.

On the surface, this moves seems to make sense. The city might be trying to leverage one bid against another to drive up the asking price. The City Council is scheduled to approve or reject the mayor's recommendation on Thursday.

Read the entire recommendation here.

Anyone surprised Williams Quarter, a developer with local ties that proposed 4,000 units of affordable, for-rent housing, is out?