New stadium for Rays? What the lease has to say
By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, September 19, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG — If the Rays don't get a new baseball stadium, how easily could they leave town?
That question — critical to any negotiations between St. Petersburg and the team — has taken center stage in the city's mayoral race.
Kathleen Ford says the Rays are committed by contract to play at Tropicana Field through 2027. She refuses to even speculate on alternatives.
ABC Coalition identifies 5 Pinellas, Hillsborough locations for new Rays stadium
If Tropicana Field didn't exist and some adventurer wanted to build a $550 million baseball stadium from scratch, then Tampa would look mighty attractive.
People can drive quickly to downtown Tampa or to the West Shore area. And Tampa's business base could support luxury suites, season tickets and corporate sponsorships.
If Rays follow Marlins, partners will guide stadium site
TAMPA - The groundbreaking Saturday on a new Florida Marlins stadium showed fan convenience doesn't drive multimillion-dollar decisions such as where to put a ballpark.
A committee exploring a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays presented data Thursday showing sites in more populous Hillsborough County are preferable to Pinellas sites based on drive time, business activity and population growth.
Tampa Bay Rays advisory group says new stadium needs retractable roof
ST. PETERSBURG — The group studying new stadium options for the Tampa Bay Rays said Thursday that any new ballpark should have a retractable roof.
The roof could add $100 million or more to the cost of a stadium, but would allow the team to play in the open air in comfortable months like April and May and in shaded air conditioning in swampy summer months.
Rays stadium in Hillsborough might draw more fans
CLEARWATER - If population centers drive the decision, the top three choices for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium are all in Hillsborough County, according to a committee exploring a replacement for Tropicana Field.
Any new stadium should feature a retractable roof, fewer seats than Tropicana Field and a mixed-use area nearby with entertainment, dining and retail, committee members said during a meeting today.
Renovation of Trop not a possibility
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A private group examining stadium options for the Tampa Bay Rays doesn't believe renovating Tropicana Field is a viable alternative to building a new home for the AL champions.
A subcommittee of A Baseball Community -- the coalition of political and business leaders created last summer to explore ways to broaden support for a new ballpark -- said it would be too costly to transform The Trop into a facility with the amenities of newer major league stadiums.
Tampa Bay Rays, St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are in no position to sell or renovate Tropicana Field, group says
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.
Where to put Rays?
Despite the heartburn it causes St. Petersburg city officials, a community group examining options for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays is right to evaluate potential sites on both sides of the bay. Tampa Bay is one market, and the Rays are a regional franchise that has to draw fans from the entire area to be successful. The ultimate goal is to keep Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay, and that means finding the best site for a new stadium.
St. Pete voters don't want their tax money used to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium, poll shows
ST. PETERSBURG — Carolyn Booker was there when the Tampa Bay Rays played their first game at Tropicana Field.
The ardent fan is horrified by the notion that the team could one day leave St. Petersburg.
Even so, if the Rays get their way and a new stadium is built, she doesn't want her tax dollars used.
Baker bristles at Rays move from St. Pete
TAMPA - Will the Tampa Bay Rays be coming to downtown Tampa?
Not if St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker has anything to say about it.
A group studying whether the baseball team should leave Tropicana Field has included three sites in Hillsborough County - downtown Tampa, the West Shore district and the state fairgrounds east of downtown - in a list of potential locations for a new stadium.
Since the Rays withdrew plans for a waterfront facility in downtown St. Petersburg last year, the A Baseball Community coalition, which is headed by Progress Energy CEO Jeff Lyash, has been searching for a new home for the Mayor League Baseball team.