Lyash's coalition expanded to 11, not 9

Jeff Lyash, Progress Energy Florida CEO, has expanded his A Baseball Community group from 9 board members to 11.

Here are the other 10 members of the community group tapped to find the Tampa Bay Rays a new stadium:

• Alan Bomstein, president of Creative Contractors.
• Rick Davis, president of Bay Area Medical Supplies
• Barbara Heck, president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations
• Greg Johnson, president of the Pinellas County Urban League
• Russ Kimball, general manager of the Sheraton Sand Key Resort
• Judy Mitchell, president of Peter R. Brown Construction
• Steve Raymund, former CEO of Tech Data and former co-chairman of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce's baseball task force
• Craig Sher, president of Sembler Co.
• Bob Stewart, County Commission Chairman
• Chuck Sykes, CEO of Sykes Enterprises Inc

There will be at least three committees. Heck will lead the fan support group. Sykes will lead the corporate support group. Sher will lead the group on stadium sites.

Lyash is expected to reveal the board's membership to the Times editorial board at 2:30 p.m.

-- Cristina Silva, Times staff

Comments

[hammersmith]

I went to the game last night with my wife, we reminised about how we came to the ground breaking with our two young boys to enjoy Chuck Berry and the excitement of the possibility of a team. It was different times but I still believe the indoor stadium makes the most sense, ie. heat, humidity, lighting, bugs. As a man and woman who would like our grand kids to grow up in an area with a team, we believe the present stadium should be reworked again to make it a better experience. The economics of this area has not changed much and assuming it is not going to, we think a $100. night (what it cost us) out at the ballpark is about what the average resident can pay for a special occasion night. That means not every week. Anything that is done in the future to change that dynamic will surely price out your potential audience. People would love to come to games but the driving cost is also a factor for the long distance fans. Rework what you have here,the city, county, owner, should work on improving the area around the stadium to make it more family friendly. Recommendations: fill the creek up with boatable water, aqua scape the sides with walkways, amusements, resturants, curious shops, like the river walk at Austin, TX or Tradewinds resort or cover it like Gaylords Opryland. Family friendly experiences and pricing will keep people coming back 80 nights a year. The St. Pete bowl and other events could create other profit centers for the owners. Pay off the old stadium debt and then re-build because certainly state of the art in 10 or 15 years will be even more exciting. Again dress up what you have.

[Joe]

What happened to the "season ticket holder" that was supposed to be on here....I just see a bunch of fat pocketbooks willing to dump more money on the average taxpayer. These people arent in touch with the fans...hell I bet they havent even been to a game all year (maybe one they havent PAID for!!)

[Sara]

Why do you assume these people are not season ticket-holders, Joe? I have seen at least two of the people on the task force at games multiple times. Stop making assumptions that you have no basis for! Just because someone is rich and/or prominent in the community, doesn't make them out of touch with fans.

[Sara]

Why do you assume these people are not season ticket-holders, Joe? I have seen at least two of the people on the task force at games multiple times. Stop making assumptions that you have no basis for! Just because someone is rich and/or prominent in the community, doesn't make them out of touch with fans.

[Greg]

Re: Fan, "bye bye Rays" is fine with me! If the Tampa Bay market liked baseball, attendance wouldn't be so pathetic...watching baseball outdoors (in the heat/humidity/rain) is certainly not an improvement over watching it indoors. There are so many better ways this kind of money can be spent...no more subsidizing sports teams!

[Press Release]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 3, 2008

FROM: PRESERVE OUR WALLETS AND WATERFRONT (POWW)

TO: ALL MEDIA

RE: APPOINTMENTS TO A BASEBALL COMMUNITY COALITION

PRESERVE OUR WALLETS AND WATERFRONT HAS HOPED FOR AND SUPPORTED THE
BELIEF THAT MR. JEFF LYASH WAS SINCERE IN HIS EFFORTS TO CREATE AN
INCLUSIVE AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR THE ABC COALITION, A 501 ( C ) (4 )
NON-PROFIT WHICH ACCEPTS NON-TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS AND HAS THE LEGAL
ABILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING AND ENDORSE CANDIDATES FOR
ELECTION.

UNFORTUNATELY, MR. LYASH HAS CHOSEN TO EXCLUDE THE VOICE OF POWW FROM
PARTICIPATION AND IN DOING SO HAS EXCLUDED THE BROAD BASED VOICE OF MANY
THOUSANDS OF POWW CONSTITUENTS.

THE POWW STEERING COMMITTEE HAD SUGGESTED THAT POWW’S CONSTITUENTS BE
REPRESENTED BY MR NIEL ALLEN, WHO HAS GAINED A COMMUNITY REPUTATION FOR
REASONABLE AND BALANCED CONSIDERATION IN ISSUES RELATING TO THE
CONTINUATION OF BASEBALL IN THE REGION.
IN LIGHT OF CITY WIDE DIVISIVENESS CAUSED BY THE RAYS EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE A WATERFRONT LOCATION AND THE USE OF
TAX DOLLARS TO BUILD A NEW STADIUM, AND IN CONSIDERATION OF TODAY’S
ANNOUNCEMENT MR. ALLEN STATES,

“ It is disappointing that Mr. Lyash and the ABC Coalition have failed to recognize the value of inclusiveness in this process. The decision not to include representatives from all constituencies may cause many thousands of citizens to feel disenfranchised. I believe the ABC Coalition has missed a unique opportunity to unite our community.”

ON BEHALF OF ITS THOUSANDS OF CONSTITUENTS, POWW WILL MONITOR THE ABC COALITION, ADVOCATE FOR A TRANSPARENT PROCESS, AND CONTINUE TO
PROTECT THE WATERFRONT AND WALLETS OF ALL CITIZENS.

[mrclean]

Heck reports back that there is very little community support. Sykes reports back that the corporations are interested if it doesn't cost them any money. Sher found a great stadium location and Sembler so happens to own it.

[New Rays Fan]

This committee is total BS. No average fans, no one who sits in Section 305, Row DD (last row) and watches the games from the cheap seats No one from Pasco, Sarasota, Manatee Counties, and only one from Hillsborough. They did hit the minority base with one African American but does baseball not have a large Hispanic following. Where's the Latin influence? Baseball's future has been gimmicks to bring people to the park and this group lacks that. Get a college student looking for a career in sports marketing. I am sure that of the 300 applicants every average Joe or Sarah was not even considered. Let's just pack up the Rays gear at the end of this season and send them on to a community that will support them like Charlotte or Vegas.
The group selected is a self serving bunch that will never venture out of their luxury boxes or Whitney Bank Club seats. This committee is horrible Jeff Lyash, Progress Energy CEO, should spend more time on saving money for his senior citizen customers. His only good choice was Commissioner Bob Stewart a season ticket holder. The rest of this group has probably not attended as many Rays games in the team's history as I have since my arrival here three years ago. Go Rays!

[Bob Thorton]

New Rays Fan
You are right on my friend. The business people who put the screws to the little guy everyday. Self serving village idiots. Where is Robin Hood when you need him.

[doone]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Florida itself cannot sustain a baseball team?

On the face of it, it sounds ludicrious, but for anyone willing to stop and think about it without personal interest, the reasons are clear and many.

The only successful baseball/Florida venture is spring training, and that's including a two time world series team that can only draw about six hundred fans.

Spring training is successful because of a fan base that includes the entire country. Fans annually make the trip to Florida to watch their team and vacation.

Its a rite of spring.

There is a larger population base to draw from considering that most of the snowbirds are still here at that time.

Year after year has shown that there is not enough support from people to spend the dog days of the summer at a baseball park when it can be seen from the comfort of your own home.

In a population base that dominated by fixed incomes, how in the world can anyone believe that a stadium could be filled by anyone other than the luxuryboxes, cheap seats and the comps.

$100 an evening can blow the entire entertainment budget for most of your demographic for the year.

Owners lament that the team is losing money even as the net worth skyrockets.

I'll stop here since most of you have already changed the channel. There is more. Think about it.

Face it, Florida loves spring training. The promise, the excitement, and the ritual, sounds like a perfect marraige, but it doesn't want to get married, just engaged.

Baseball can't survive here in summer.
Never did. Never will.

[Raymond The Rays Mascot]

ABC is an A++++ for St. Pete & Pinellas County to become long term committed to each for many generations to come. Another great day in St. Pete.

p.s. for all the Tampons, we're not building it over there jealous haters for no reason, so get over it.

[Patrick]

Say goodbye to the Rays and say goodbye to Progress Energy as well. Progress Energy is a parasite......

[A real baseball fan]

I am so disappointed. I thought that this commission would be representative of the community. How dare they call themselves diverse.. there are not diverse in any way..not economically, not geographically, not ethnically. What a joke

[ed]

this whole "commission set-up" is a HUGE JOKE. had to laugh when i read BOB STEWART whined because he was NOT on the commission-so what happened-HE WAS PROMPTLY APPOINTED!!
am calling this situation BAKER'S BUNGLE!!