With St. Pete's waterfront out, where should the Rays look next for a stadium?

The Tampa Bay Rays management has officially killed the team's proposal for a new baseball stadium on downtown St. Petersburg's waterfront. And now say they are unsure whether a new stadium could succeed anywhere in downtown St. Pete, even where they currently play at Tropicana Field.

"It's pretty clear people did not want a ballpark down there," Rays senior vice president Michael Kalt said Friday. "From what we're seeing, we're probably in that camp, too."

Now that a waterfront stadium is out, which site should the team consider?
Toytown
St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport
Tampa
New stadium at the Trop
Keep Trop, no need for new stadium

Comments

[patrick]

I think a waterfront stadium would have been great for the city of St Petersburg. I understand the importance of preserving the downtown area but the revenue brought in to the area would have been nice. The Trop is out dated and why not show off the great St Pete downtown area for national audiences. I think you guys are missing out.

[The Trop is fine]

In 2025, get a feasibility study for putting a retractable roof on the existing Trop. Perhaps, by then, the economy will have recovered and the City can pay for the rest of the environmental clean up of the Trop Parking lots and redevelop the trop parking lots into an entertainment area (not movies) that will complement businesses in the Grand Central Ave, 16th Street Business District and the Downtown District. We should really plan for the Rays move and consider other ways to use our public dollars to better leverage business development for our community. Most of the highest wage earners on the Rays team do not live in St. Pete or even Pinellas County. The Rays will go where they believe that they can make the most money and we hear them loud and clear when they say it is not in St. Pete.

[Rick]

There is room for only one big time sport in St. Pete. Shuffleboard.

[Jon]

one word....TAMPA

central location problem solved.

attendance issues problem solved.

Tampa is the answer.

[Villiage Idiot]

The stadium needs to be in Tampa.

The Trop averages 13K a game during the week and 29K on the weekends WHEN THE TAMPA BAY FANS CARRY THE ATTENDANCE.

Let's face it...there isn't enough St Pete support so move it to Tampa where their is more support. It's that or lose it to an out of state venue.

Sorry St. Pete you blew it.

[Tom]

Why Tampa? Evidently no one has ever tried to get into and out of RayJay for football. It is not on an interstate. At least the Trop has easy in/out access. Has anyone ever been to an outdoor game in FL in the summer? YOU CAN'T DO IT. It's too hot and it rains. Just look at this week! We have to have some kind of roof. If you don't believe me, go to Miami this weekend

[Graciousnana]

If St. Pete is out, then the most logical place is Tampa. We already have two great sports teams situated there, so let's find a good place for our Rays. We need to come up with something that will keep them here and not move out as so many teams have done in the past. Let's all work together with management to bring this to pass.

[T]

It's too bad Bud Selig has brainwashed everyone into thinking you have to have a new stadium or you can't compete. Otherwise this would not even be up for discussion

[Graciousnana]

In answer to Tom - yes it's really bad getting out of Rayjay for football, however, when you weigh that against the possibility of losing the team entirely, Tampa is the only answer. As far as games during the spring/summer/fall, we definitely need to consider a dome-type facility that will be open during good weather and closed for our bad/serious weather. Again, we need to be on the same page as Management to come up with a good plan to keep our Rays here!

[baseball fan]

Ybor city. It will clean up the area, help businesses, good atmosphere for pregame and postgame, plus adds the history to the aura that is the Rays.

[J.J. Rodriguez]

Funny how the Tampa folks want the Rays now that they're winning...I believe a centralized Pinellas location (such as Toytown/Airport) would better serve everyone. Living in North Pinellas makes it a MAJOR pain to travel south on 275 or US 19 at 5:00 Mon-Fri to get to the Trop. Mid-Pinellas is just across the bridge from Tampa and much closer to the population center of Pinellas county. Not mention there would be plenty of land for the stadium and the parking lot. Something that Tampa cannot offer.

[Donna]

The Rays have a contract to play in the existing Trop until 2027. They signed up for it. If they move prior to that time what do the taxpayers get back for the broken contract? We did our part and built their stadium now the new carpet baggers from NY think that's just a piece of paper they can ignore. Will the city atty. sue them or will individual taxpayers have to take on that expense too?

[Jeff]

The Rays have abandoned the idea of a stadium in downtown St. Pete, not St. Pete altogether.

The most obvious place is Feather Sound. It is near the geographic center of the Tampa Bay area and has easy access for people from all over the area. It'd be much easier for someone like me, living in north Pinellas, to get there. It'd be easier for someone coming from Tampa. It'd be in Clearwater's backyard.

As for the contract, contracts can be broken. There are penalties for ending them early, but St. Pete must also be certain that it has ALWAYS abided by its end of the deal. If St. Pete charged the Rays even an extra penny for something beyond contract stipulation then the contract can be terminated. My guess is that neither the Rays or St. Pete have fully abided by their agreement to the letter and that means that either could basically walk away after a lawyer shows one party had breached the contract.

[Jimbo]

Toytown, Gateway, PIE, and Carillon are all fine and good, but how does that help downtown? When people go to a game, if they can park at the stadium, they will, leaving immediately after the game to go home or a watering hole near their house. This was the case for a long time due to the parking lot at Tropicana Field always being empty.

The area around the Trop is starting to come back to life because attendance has forced people to park away from the dome, meaning more impulse buys at shops along Central. Increased business activity means more tax revenue for the city.

Also, if it's so "inconvenient" for Tampa residents (which, BTW, contrary to popular belief, is NOT the geographical population center of the Tampa Bay Area; that belongs to 4th St N and about 83rd Ave N; meaning, as many residents live north of that spot as live south, east, and west. I don't think the people of Riviera Bay want a stadium in their backyards, however), why do Hillsborough season ticket holders now outnumber their Pinellas counterparts, as well as the Rays' attendance increased 40+%, the most in the majors? It's because people are beginning to realize the bridges work both ways.

Besides, the TBARTA master plan they're probably gonna approve today has a new transit terminal right near the Trop, meaning even more impulse - and more planned - buying around that area, and thus more tax dollars, not to mention the ease of being able to get from all points to the Trop area via commuter/light rail and express busing.

Moving from downtown will kill any momentum gained before the recession to keep it healthy enough to survive. People will have no reason to go from any northern St. Pete location to downtown after the game, thereby stymieing any growth happening around the Trop now. And, in reality, it results in lost tax dollars, the main reason anyone started pro sports to begin with ("Hey, if people from your city come here to see their team, we can make money off of them!").

Keep it on the Trop site. It's (close-to) centrally located, it's easily accessible with I-275 (and in the future, rail), and it helps St. Pete where it matters most: downtown! Besides, how many suburban-style baseball stadiums are there? 3, and one of them is being replaced (Miami). Let's not be #4.

[Jasonhouse]

If the team is going to stay here longterm, then their stadium needs to be somewhere along the central spine of the metro, which stretches along I-275 from the Gateway area to Westshore and to DT Tampa. My personal preference would be to find a site in Westshore. I think the team's attendance and revenues would be best in that location... DT St Petersburg has always been offset too far from the center of the region, and it always will be.

[Michele]

I would love to see it in the Carillon area or the office park on MCI Drive, which is virtually empty on Gandy just before it changes to Park Blvd.. Property in both areas would be ideal, minimal noise for either areas & the ability to handle traffic.

[Kenneth]

PIE isn't even a legal option - nor is Albert Whitted. The FAA has put too much money into either of those fields to see them disappear.

[Ray Man]

This season ticket holder and fan from day 1 will drop everything if this team moves to Tampa.

Tampa is the worst option since it is impossible to get there without wasting 2-3 hours sitting in the parking lot called 275N.

Rays Mgt, the only people that come from Tampa to see the Rays now are the Skankee Fans (the worst fans in mlb).

Why move there?

Stay in the Trop, keep the team competitive! Build the BASE!

[baseball fan]

I have the best idea...
Get some F-18 Hornets from MacDill to drop some carpet bombs on the entire Yankee spring training facility, put the Rays stadium there. Make the call.

[Rays]

Tampa is a dump and has done nothing to help the Rays get over the hump. If I had my way, I would never travel across that bridge.

Do a little study, drive from Pinellas over the Franklin at 5pm on Friday.

You will be at Ashley St sometime around 8pm.

[Jimbo]

Better yet, baseball fan, just carpet bomb the Yankees - with them in it. No need for a reason otherwise ;-)

[oscar]

How about ouit by the fairgrounds? It would be a heck of a lot easier to get to, and would allow for more growth. The Orlando fans won't have to add an extra hour onto the drive. Maybe then they won't need a series of home games for themselves.

[paul]

these hotshot schmuck owners think they can come here and do whatever they want. let them build it next to yankee stadium in n.y. or stick it up the wazoo. i say get the freakin thing out of here or turn it into some affordable housing.

[Jeff]

If the Rays want to leave downtown then St. Pete really can't stop them. They can get compensation, but the Rays will be able to leave just like every other team that has had a contract and left.

As a Cleveland Browns fan, I can tell you that even a great fan base can't stop it. We got a new team, but lost the old one and had to wait.

The best option is for St. Pete to keep the team within its city limits while finding a spot for better access to those outside of St. Pete. The downtown area is not a great place for this. Carillon, Feather Sound area is. The team would stay in Pinellas (a better option) and the stadium would be located at a nexus point. I don't know if there's any waterfront sites available in the Feather Sound area as that would be great, but a retractable roof will be necessary in some form and the recent weather just confirms that.

As for the Trop, it can still be redeveloped and St. Pete can use it as part of a plan to strengthen the downtown area. It will be hard for them to make St. Pete a destination with or without the Rays there. While Tampa is not the geographical center, Tampa is still the heart of the Tampa Bay Area.

[tbmike]

To Rays and Ray Man. Far be it from us Tampa residents to bother you old people. You know, St. Pete, newly wed or nearly dead. It must be frustrating to go east across the bridge and see things built after the 60's, living and breathing people, and real entertainment complexes like Channelside. And we don't drop speakers on visitors.