ABC interim reports on Tropicana options, financing

ST. PETERSBURG -- Renovating Tropicana Field is impractical, selling it now doesn’t make financial sense and paying for a new stadium will be difficult when there’s millions of dollars in debt on the old one.

Those were some of the highlights of a meeting Monday by A Baseball Community, the private group studying stadium options for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Read the actual reports here and here.

Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[Paul]

Nice reports, once you figure out that you need to flip your monitor sideways. Way to go PR person on ABC, share that info is an easy to use format... 'hey, its sideways... ahhh, so what, we're a meaningless exercise at the end of the day'.

[Scaramouche]

Here's a little investigative-journalism article by John Sugg, Creative Loafing -- Atlanta. Not exactly your wild-eyed "liberal," not a "cotton-top," just an observer not afraid to point out the obvious, including "baseball fraud. The piece is nominally "about" an Atlanta farm team's new stadium, snuck past another set of "voters." Any of this sound immediately familiar?

"Name the Gwinnett Braves Stadium 'Fools' Field.'

"About 20 years ago, I had an epiphany about pro sports. I worked for a Miami business newspaper, and we began wondering about Dolphins’ owner Joe Robbie’s claims that his new stadium was entirely privately funded. By today’s standards, it was. But our investigation revealed there were tons of public costs.

"Whatever else you can say about Robbie, and he could be a sonofabitch, he was just about the last capitalist to own a pro sports team. Since Joe Robbie Stadium was built, the team owners have converted to the creed of socialism for the very rich.

"Sports stadiums nowadays are giant palaces built for the affluent and paid for largely — and some entirely — by working- and middle-class taxpayers. I covered two initiatives in Tampa. When Malcolm Glazer purchased the Buccaneers in 1995, he used the standard pout of team owners: Build me a new stadium or I’ll move. As I detailed in a series of reports, Glazer lied about what he planned to contribute. To pass a referendum worth more than $1 billion over 30 years to Glazer, the Bucs’ owner had his political lackeys combine the stadium funding with new school construction. If parents wanted decent schools, they had to give Glazer his stadium.

"The Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team, meanwhile, had taxpayers pay for its coliseum based in part on assertions that the owners were a wealthy Japanese golf course company. I won awards for exposing the lie — the owners were deadbeats with virtually no assets. The sources of the money the owners did have were never explained, but former associates accused the owners in a federal lawsuit of being “gangsters.”

"In reporting these stories, I got to know a number of sports consultants. One of them gave me the game plan he uses when a client wants a new stadium. Among the recommendations: Keep details secret until it’s too late for the public to act, avoid public discussion, enlist the major newspapers and TV stations with sweetheart deals (for example,the Tampa Tribune never questioned Glazer’s stadium deal because the newspaper had become a “Pewter Partner” of the team), and at all cost, don’t let the taxpayers vote on the deal.

"What has happened in Gwinnett County follows that plan. Every man, woman and tyke in Gwinnett is being robbed of about $50 to make the owners of the Braves’ minor league team wealthier than they are. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is dutifully boosterish about the whole thing, hardly noting that not all residents are overjoyed at being taxed to enrich already-rich team owners, not to mention that residents will have to pay for more costs, such as road and infrastructure improvements.

"At least among my neighbors and friends in Lilburn, the mood is angry at the politicians who concocted the high-handed and secret deal — especially Commissioner Bert Nasuti and County Administrator Jock Connell. The details still haven’t been made public — Connell, with the arrogance of Marie Antoinette or Leona Helmsley, contends the scheme is too complicated for the little people to understand.

"But the little people will be asked to pay. And pay. And pay some more."

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/johnsugg/2008/01/24/name-the-gwinnett-braves-stadium-fools-field/

[Thomas]

Paul, you could always just right click the presentation and select "Rotate View" for better viewing.

Just sayin'

[Thomas]

ABC needs someone to do quality check of their work. On Slide 31 of the financing presentation they have the private/public colors inverted for the Nats example.

The overall presentation seemingly offers no indication that the Rays intend to fund any of the stadium costs. The presentation is dedicated to finding new ways for the public to bear the stadium construction and financing costs.

[Paul]

Sure Thomas, I realize that... but if I worked for you and said 'here boss, my report is ready to go to the media' and it wasn't formatted correctly, I'm sure you'd have something to say about it :)

Perhaps I'm just getting sick of this endless whining and moaning from the team owner millionaires.

[Winston]

Interesting proposals. Thomas, the Rays had indicated they would pay $150M for the downtown stadium, right? Have you heard what their number would be for a stadium on a different site?

[Scaramouche]

Hey, Winston, go review the bidding.

The "$150 million" was not a contribution of capital by the Boys from New York, it was a "prepayment of rent" that they would owe over a decade or two, assuming they weren't able to pull yet another fast one and be excused from even paying rent on the facility that the taxpayers "bought" but to which the Rays Boys would hold effective title. Because they "contribute so much to the economy of the area."

Will this scam ever be reduced to something like a "term sheet" and "agreement in principle" that the voters can review and think about? And maybe get to vote on the wisdom of? Or are we in for another October Surprise?

Fool us once, shame on us...

[Norm Roche]

Good day folks,

I think this could be a great opportunity to address several outstanding issues and absolutely skyrocket St. Pete and Pinellas’ economy. Here me out, or read me out as it were. It’s a concept I’ve been working on for a while now. I dropped a little bit of it – it its developmental stage – on Pinellas County’s Director of Economic Development a while back.

We could turn Pinellas into a cruise line port, resulting in a real and sustainable economic boost to the entire county.

Convert the Pier into a cruise ship receiving dock capable of receiving at least two ships. I've since been told that this was one of the original ideas for the pier. With the right plan and investors, this could revitalize Bay Walk, increase tourism to the beaches, bring jobs for thousands, and hence justify a functional mass-transit system as well.

As for the Trop: I took in a game with two leading foundation and bituminous engineers for the express purpose of investigating my concept – one of which was involved with the subsurface and foundation study of the Trop when it was built. We don’t need to build a new Trop or install a retractable roof, etc… We simply need to “Rays” the roof (pi). With the proper construction of hydraulic-lift shaft mechanisms, we could literally raise the roof at any time we choose. We figured about 10-to-15 feet would do it. Given the shape of the hard-structure roof line, the breeze would flow through the Trop, the evening air, the sun sets, etc… and create the outdoor environment while maintaining the weather-protected option.

Imagine the 7th inning stretch; the Rays are winning or on a comeback move; the sound system begins to pump out a loud and bass amplified Black Sabbath lead-in… and the roof begins to “Ray’s”. The fans would go wild! People would fill the Trop just for the experience. It would be an ESPN highlight every night, and an MLB event shown around the world.

Then, we build a multi-level parking garage to the west of the Trop – across 16th I believe, and build a walkway over 16th that goes right by (and to) the Trop and leads down into the existing parking lot – that has been redeveloped into an open-air town center/straw market/multi-use complex.

Trolley’s and busses running throughout St. Pete and Pinellas respectively; cruise ship passengers taking in a Ray’s game as part of a tour package; commerce, jobs, economic growth, worldwide publicity…

A radical concept, perhaps, but I’m telling ya… it’s all doable!

My best to you all,

[Joe]

As a 'lifelong' season ticket holder, I attend multiple Rays games each year. I find the Trop to be very functional. However, I understand the concept of progress along w/ the current economics.If a new stadium is feasible, I strongly believe it should have a retractable roof. This would allow us to enjoy the nice late evenings & still shield us from what can be very harsh elements.
Also, it would be nice to have the glass wall (Miller Park, Milwaukee) in the outfield to give the stadium an outdoor feel even when the roof is closed. Thank you