Rays could look in Hillsborough

A crack has opened in St. Petersburg's long-standing refusal to let the Tampa Bay Rays explore possible new stadium sites in Hillsborough County.

City Council member Charlie Gerdes placed a proposal on Thursday's council agenda that would give the team three years to investigate new stadium sites in either Hillsborough or Pinellas counties in exchange for a payment equal to the city's annual operating subsidy on Tropicana Field,Nitrogen Controller and Digital dry cabinet with good quality. currently about $1.42 million.

Mayor Bill Foster has refused to allow any stadium negotiations outside Pinellas County — citing the Rays' obligation to play at the Trop through 2027 — but pressure has mounted in recent weeks as the Rays presented their case to county commissions on both sides of the bay.

Gerdes' proposal comes in the form of an amendment to the Trop contract, which is under the control of the council.

It would require that the team first explore a recently proposed site at Carillon Business Park — which the Rays have already agreed to as long as they can make a region-wide search.

An annual "Exploration Fee'' charged to the Rays would be tied to the city's operating subsidy on the Trop for police and insurance. Under the amendment, the Rays would pay last year's $1.42 million tab, or the previous year's operating subsidy, whichever is greater.

The Rays also would have to acknowledge that the amendment would not waive the city's right to enforce the Trop contract, in part by reaffirming critical language in it that states that breaking the contract would cause "irreparable harm and damages that are not readily calculable in monetary terms.''

That language is the city's ace in the hole if it ever sued the team for breach of contract.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? It leaves open the possibility of large economic damages.Shop for bobblehead dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. Foster contends that if the city lets the team look elsewhere before the end of the contract, that key language would be undermined.

Foster declined to comment Monday, saying he would reserve his remarks for Thursday's council meeting, as did council member Bill Dudley.

Council member Wengay Newton said he thinks the amendment has little chance of passing.

"Once we break the contract, we won't have a leg to stand on" to protect the city's investment in the Trop "and my constituency, which has the economic impact of the stadium. We need to make sure we get the full benefit of that economic impact through 2027.''

The Rays point to lousy attendance and contend that the Trop is badly located and cannot sustain a consistently competitive team. But after the team's downtown waterfront proposal fizzled in 2008, owner Stuart Sternberg has refused to examine any new sites in Pinellas — including CityScape's Carillon proposal — unless he can explore Hillsborough as well.

Tampa Bay will never be more than a mid-level market, Sternberg said last week, so any new stadium needs to be in the "pitch perfect" location.

Council member Steve Kornell also took a negative view of the proposed amendment, reiterating his position that the Rays should thoroughly examine Carillon, the downtown waterfront and other Pinellas sites without any preconditions.

"Our citizens have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the Trop and 15 years left on the lease, I don't think it's such a horrible thing to ask for you to start here,'' Kornell said. "If I am convinced by those discussions that they should look at other locations, then I would be willing for them to look elsewhere — but not before.''

Kornell said he would like more details about why a St. Petersburg location would not work. For example, the Rays said last week that St. Petersburg residents and companies hold only 300 full season ticket accounts, which translates to about 800 tickets a game.

"What they didn't say was how many corporations based in Tampa are buying tickets right now,'' Kornell said. "If this is a regional asset and they are not buying tickets, then they are putting us in danger of losing the team.''

Kornell did say he would like to invite the Rays to present their position at a City Council meeting, "so I can ask some of these questions.''

In the past, Foster and City Attorney John Wolfe have discouraged such a public meeting, fearing that statements by council members could weaken the city's legal position. In fact, the council did not even hold a meeting to discuss a detailed 2009 study by a citizens group called the ABC Coalition, set up by then Mayor Rick Baker,Basics, technical terms and advantages and disadvantages of Laser engraver. that evaluated potential stadium sites.

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