Is this in our future?

The Florida Marlins released new drawings for their ballpark recently. As you can tell, the Miami stadium -- set to be built at the site of the former Orange Bowl -- will include a retractable roof.

The $515-million Miami stadium project is being paid for mostly through taxpayer dollars. Here's the breakdown, courtesy of the Miami Herald:

• Miami-Dade County will spend $347 million in mostly tourist created taxes;
• The city of Miami will spend $13 million;
• The Marlins will contribute $155 million ($35 million of that will be fronted by the county and repaid through rent payments).
• The county and Miami are each also responsible for infrastructure costs like moving electrical lines and road improvements that are expected to cost up to $10 million each.
• And both governments will also shell out $1.7 million in an attempt to keep the Little Havana ballpark as green as possible, the Herald reports.

You can see more renderings of the Marlins park here. The Marlins are hoping to be in their new home for the 2012 season.

How does this impact talks in St. Petersburg? Well, members of the committee studying a potential new home for the Tampa Bay Rays seem pretty set on a retractable roof --- so if this is the latest in retractable roof technology, this is what might be on our horizon.

The funding terms may also end up comparable, if a deal is struck. Putting aside the notion of prepaid rent for a second, the Marlins are contributing about 30 percent of the cost toward constructing a new stadium (it's shrinks to around 28 percent if you factor in the infrastructure the city and county are required to build).

You might remember that there was a lot of debate during the Al Lang funding proposal how much the Rays would be kicking in to that stadium. But in short, the Rays said they would contribute $150 million to the $435 million project, or about 34.5 percent (again putting aside the rent question, which was never resolved in St. Petersburg. The Rays and city never discussed a possible rent payment).

-- Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer

POWW ramps up signature drive

ST. PETERSBURG -- Preserve Our Wallets and Waterfronts, or POWW, has amped up its campaign to change the city charter and give voters more rights over future stadium construction.

The political action committee hired Peter Schorsch, a political consultant who led an unsuccessful campaign to replace Albert Whitted Municipal Airport with a waterfront park in 2003, to collect signatures. The group also launched a direct mail campaign and has plans to speak to neighborhood groups about its petitions.

POWW is circulating two petitions to amend St. Petersburg's charter. One amendment would require voter approval for any city funding for professional sports facilities. The other would require voter approval for substantial changes to St. Petersburg's waterfront parks.

Founder Hal Freedman said it is difficult to gather signatures now that there is so much uncertainty surrounding the stadium's future.

"We aren't getting the volunteer turnout that we would have gotten before," he said.

It's unclear whether Schorsch can make a difference.

He has had his share of legal troubles and was once charged with stealing money from former clients. He pleaded no contest.

He also has his own political ambitions. He's active in City Council member Jamie Bennett's mayoral campaign and is considering running for the council by 2014. Schorsch has even referred to himself as the "white Darryl," as in state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, who overcame his own criminal history before becoming a respected politician.

Freedman said Schorsch was highly recommended by others who worked on the Albert Whitted campaign.

"He said 'I can get a bunch of people, I can get signatures,' " Freedman said. "That's what we are hiring him for. He is the guy in the trenches."

Meanwhile, former Council member Kathleen Ford resigned from the group's steering committee and is no longer involved in POWW in any official capacity. Speculators say Ford, an attorney, is separating herself from POWW in preparation for a mayoral bid in the upcoming St. Petersburg election.

Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer

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Rays' Silverman: 'Regional' culture still lacking

Read business columnist Robert Trigaux's take on Matt Silverman's speech at the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce annual dinner Wednesday night. A sample:

"Though St. Petersburg clings to legal commitments that would keep the Rays within city limits, clearly the greater good of keeping the Rays a healthy franchise for the entire region is a growing theme ... Mayor Baker has maxed out his terms in office, so the race for a new mayor is quickly gathering steam. Who knows what a change in city administration might mean for the Rays' future."

Troxler: A stadium column

Under the title, What if best site for Rays isn't in St. Petersburg?, Howard Troxler weighed in with a stadium related column Wednesday. Let me know what you think.

The city of St. Petersburg sent a strong letter the other day to the private group that's studying a new baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here's a translation:

"Hey! We hear that you guys are asking what it will take to break the Rays' existing deal, which says they have to play baseball here until 2027.

"The answer is, nothing can break it. Zip. So don't even think about a new stadium that isn't in St. Petersburg."

The letter, written by City Attorney John Wolfe, even contained a hint of a warning that nobody should try to mess with the existing deal.

"Neither the city nor the Rays," Wolfe wrote, "gave any person or party a waiver … to interfere with or cause a violation of the provisions of the agreement."

Wolfe stressed that this is not a mere "lease" between the Rays and St. Petersburg, but a contract to play baseball games. The distinction is important. St. Petersburg believes it stands to lose much more than just some rent.

In fact, Wolfe pointed out, the contract states that any violation will cause "irreparable harm and damages that are not readily calculable." It explicitly gives both sides the right to go to court to block the other from backing out.

Finally, Wolfe wrote, just in case anybody was wondering, it was perfectly okay for the city to talk to the Rays about a new stadium back in 2007-08, because those talks didn't involve any "third party" trying to interfere.

Well.

Despite all this, the baseball task force ought to ignore the city's letter completely. Politely, but completely.

Zimbalist stadium Q&A

Andrew Zimbalist, the  Robert A. Woods professor of economics at Smith College and perhaps the best known sports economist in the country, recently participated in a New York Times Q & A I thought folks might be interested in reading.

You might remember, Zimbalist talked to us about the Tampa Bay Rays' $450-million Al Lang plan. He liked the idea.

What he told us back in May.

This is capitalism and any project carries risks.

However, smaller markets usually pick up a higher share of financing costs and the average public financing share for sports facilities is around 67 percent.

The public share in the Rays' proposal appears to be under 40 percent. Further, while again there are uncertainties, the release of some 85 acres for alternative development suggests a much more positive economic impact outlook than the conventional stadium project.

The point about the 85 acres is that without this proposal, the land is tied up for a long time. By the team reducing its footprint, they enable the city to generate revenue not currently generated.

I think this is a creative and balanced proposal (with some questions still to be answered, to be sure) from the Rays that stands a far better chance for actually having a pro-development impact than the vast majority of stadium proposals of the past.

-- Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer

Thursday's ABC meeting

TBARTA executive director Bob Clifford told members studying potential locations for a new Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium Thursday that from a transportation perspective, a new ballpark would fit best either in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg or the Westshore area of Tampa.

And since we know the city of St. Petersburg won't support a Tampa location, that singles out the Gateway are -- which Clifford said would include Carillon -- as the best location from a transit perspective.

The Rays also on Thursday released more detailed transportation and parking information for six potential sites -- Carillon, Derby Lane, the Sod Farm, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport, Toytown, and Tropicana Field.

You can read the study for yourself here here. Froy my first blush, the study again seems to favor Carillon.

-- Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer

ABC group meets today at 3 p.m.

Meeting Agenda
EpiCenter
13805 58th St. N., Largo
Thursday, January 15, 2009
3–5 p.m.
Meeting Room 1-455

I. Opening Comments                            Jeff Lyash/Judy Mitchell

II. Approval of Minutes

III. TBARTA – Regional Transit System    Robert Clifford 

IV. CIG Reports
           • Fan Support                             Barbara Heck/Richard George
           • Corporate Support                    Chuck Sykes
           • Stadium Options                      Craig Sher

V. Round Table                                      Board of Directors

VI. Adjourn

Tampa Bay Rays' growing payroll is a gamble

John Romano, in today's Times.

ST. PETERSBURG — Turns out, the Rays screwed up. They got too good.

Not that they're complaining, mind you. The tale of their turnaround was as captivating as any baseball story in 2008, and those memories will be held as dearly as a first embrace.

It's just that success arrived a little ahead of schedule, and it has put them in something of a financial bind today. They can either spend beyond their budget, or take a step backward on the field. From the looks of things, they've decided to spend.

The recent signings of Pat Burrell, Gabe Kapler and Joe Nelson brought to mind a conversation with Stuart Sternberg on the field at Fenway Park before an American League Championship Series game in October. I suggested to the Rays' owner that Tampa Bay's payroll for 2009 was going to approach $60-million.

Sternberg winced at the thought. Can't do it, he said. The revenues aren't there yet to support it.

Three months later, the Rays are flirting with a $60-million payroll. And the revenues still aren't there to support it.

So what does that mean?

Basically, that the Rays are gambling.

Stadium only in St. Petersburg, city says

The city of St. Petersburg has made its position on any potential stadium clear: It's only happening within the city limits. City attorney John Wolfe sent a letter to A Baseball Community attorney Charlie Harris Monday saying the city would only approve a stadium project within the city of St. Petersburg. (Wolfe also made clear the city has not taken a position whether or not to support a new stadium even within St. Petersburg).

Wolfe says the Rays are bound by an agreement to play Major League Baseball in the city until 2027.

"Needless to say, the city would not even consider an amendment to the agreement for a venue outside of the city," Wolfe wrote.

-- Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer