SB Nation Tampa Bay - Rays: 'Baseball Will Not Work In Downtown St. Pete'https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2010-07-14T10:25:06-04:00http://tampabay.sbnation.com/rss/stream/12922732010-07-14T10:25:06-04:002010-07-14T10:25:06-04:00Contraction Not On Table If Rays Fail To Secure New Stadium
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<p><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/11/sports/la-sp-0712-bud-selig-qanda-20100712/4">In a Q and A piece with the Los Angeles Times</a>, the Commissioner of <span class="caps">MLB</span>, Bud Selig, was asked if he thinks contraction is on the table with the Oakland A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays if the two teams could not secure new stadiums:</p>
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<p>No, I wouldn’t. I think we have moved past that.</p>
<p>We’re going into 16 years of labor peace. I regard that as maybe the prime reason for the growth of the sport.</p>
<p>I love the new ballparks. I love revenue sharing. I love interleague play and the wild card. But I don’t think we understood how those labor confrontations were damaging us, whether it was 1972, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1990 or 1994.</p>
<p>There is no question that both of those teams need new ballparks. We’ll just have to work our way through it. Tampa has done a marvelous job running their team. [General Manager] Billy Beane has done a terrific job in Oakland. With the economics of baseball today, you’ve got to have a new stadium.</p>
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<p>Rays Index, where the Q and A piece was originally found, explains on their post <a href="http://www.raysindex.com/2010/07/sell-or-move-maybe-contraction-not-so-much.html">why contraction is foolhardy for the larger business of Major League Baseball</a>.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/7/14/1569134/contraction-not-on-table-if-raysJohn Fontana2010-07-08T16:28:00-04:002010-07-08T16:28:00-04:00Don't Look Now, Orlando Wants MLB
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<p>It’s only a single web site… A site that pretty obtuse in it’s desires…</p>
<p>…But <a href="http://basesloadedorlando.com/">Bases Loaded Orlando</a> is just one example of a market without <span class="caps">MLB</span> that would be more than thrilled to have a team.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/7/8/1559439/dont-look-now-orlando-wants-mlbJohn Fontana2010-06-24T08:08:27-04:002010-06-24T08:08:27-04:00Downtown St. Pete Businesses Chime In
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<p>The <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/downtown-st-petersburg-businesses-ponder-life-without-rays/1104514">St. Pete Times</a> talked to a few business owners in downtown St. Petersburg about the possibility of the Rays leaving the area:</p>
<p>Russ Bond, general manager at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort estimates 5 percent of his business stems from visiting teams and fans.</p>
<p>Steve Westphal operates Parkshore Grill and 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House on Beach Drive, and the Hangar Restaurant and Flight Lounge at Albert Whitted Airport: “If we have baseball or if we don’t, we’ll thrive.”</p>
<p>Ferg’s owner Mark Ferguson wants the Rays to take another look at downtown: “Every year we do a little better,” he says. “And hopefully the Rays will start drawing more people to the games, and they’ll change their mind about being in downtown St. Pete.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/23/232208/rays-talk-moving-has-businesses-near-tropicana-fie/sports-rays/">Tribune quotes</a> Chang Mai Thai Cuisine’s owner Suda Deowpawaropas: “With no game, it’s quiet around here.”</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/24/1534018/downtown-st-pete-businesses-chimeGregg Burrage2010-06-23T16:51:30-04:002010-06-23T16:51:30-04:00St. Pete Times: Stadium Talk Reminiscent Of Lightning Arena Fight
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<p>St. Pete Times: Now that the Rays have said they want to consider sites on both sides of the bay for a new home, the baseball team is calling for regional cooperation. But the <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1104231.ece">announcement has stirred old — and sometimes painful — memories</a> of that earlier contest.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/23/1532859/st-pete-times-stadium-talkGregg Burrage2010-06-23T16:12:52-04:002010-06-23T16:12:52-04:00Season Ticket Holders Will Support Team On Either Side Of Bay
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<p>According to TBO.com, season <a href="http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/22/230200/rays-season-ticket-holders-react-teams-decision-fi/sports/">ticket holders will support the Rays regardless</a> of where they play in the Tampa Bay area.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/23/1532773/season-ticket-holders-will-supportGregg Burrage2010-06-21T20:41:51-04:002010-06-21T20:41:51-04:00Sternberg Says He'll Sell If The Area Doesn't Come Together
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<p>Rays owner Stuart Sternberg stressed the patience he has displayed regarding the Rays stadium issue, while<a href="http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/21/rays-owner-if-no-progress-new-stadium-id-sell-team/news-breaking/"> talking to the Tampa Tribune editorial board this afternoon</a>.</p>
<p>But one thing was laid out pretty clearly:</p>
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<p>“If I don’t get the sense there’s real cooperation, I’d sell the team.”</p>
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<p>The key word here is <i>cooperation</i>. When it comes to the rift between local governments (Tampa, St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and Hillsborough County), cooperation is a foreign term.</p>
<p>But the fact is, Sternberg selling the team puts even more pressure on the situation. A new venue becomes mandatory. And Tampa Bay governments would not likely be dealing with a careful and prepared partner in the endeavor.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/21/1529302/if-progress-is-not-made-ill-sellJohn Fontana2010-06-21T12:35:38-04:002010-06-21T12:35:38-04:00'Baseball Will Not Work Long Term In Downtown St. Petersburg'
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<p>Stu Sternberg’s recently completed press conference at Tropicana Field did not state anything that locals have not heard before — but it officially set into motion a stadium discussion in Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>Stressing the need for the sport to cater to the entire region, Sternberg put all Tampa Bay options on the table while specifically saying that "baseball will not work long term in downtown St. Petersburg."</p>
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<p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"The future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay depends on finding the optimal site for a new ballpark," said Sternberg. "It is my conviction that if baseball is to survive and flourish in Tampa Bay for the long-term, we must rise above municipal boundaries and work together with a common interest."</span></p>
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<p>Please see <a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2010/6/21/1528428/tampa-bay-rays-owner-stuart">DRaysbay.com for the entire news release</a>, or watch the press conference below:</p>
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<p>Stu Sternberg: Rays need new stadium (via <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=E1TGPlzOolc">ABCActionNews</a>)</p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/21/1528424/baseball-FAIL-in-DT-St-PeteJohn Fontana2010-06-21T11:03:51-04:002010-06-21T11:03:51-04:00Stu Sternberg to go public over Rays stadium issues
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<p>Sunday, word crept out in the St. Petersburg Times that Stu Sternberg, owner of the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/TAM" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Rays</a>, was <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/will-stadium-be-on-agenda-when-rays-owner-st-petersburg-mayor-meet/1103749">seeking time to talk face-to-face with St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster</a>, which was to be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since this spring ... with a "social visit" the reason for the meeting.</p>
<p>But late Sunday, the Rays announced that <a href="http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2010/6/21/632772.html?title=BHSN:+Rays+owner+to+discuss+team's+future">Sternberg would speak at a news conference at 12:15 p.m Monday</a> to discuss the team's future...</p>
<p>And the obvious discussion point is going to be what the Rays want in a stadium.</p>
<p>A flash point in the Tampa Bay region is about the Rays stadium issue. Some Rays fans and St. Pete residents see nothing wrong with Tropicana Field as-is. Other Bay area residents (as well as those attuned to the venue's aesthetic failings) are more willing to concede stadium issues and the need for an open dialog with the team about a new venue.</p>
<p>This will be an ongoing issue for the foreseeable future, and we'll try to keep you caught up</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/6/21/2316726/stu-sternberg-to-go-public-over-rays-stadium-issuesJohn Fontana