Cost is already a concern of Tampa Mayor Buckhorn who said, “I can’t tell you how we’re going to pay for this.”
January 3, 2016 I posted It is
time to get the Rays deal done. Thursday January 14, 2016 the St.
Petersburg City Council voted to let the Rays look for a new stadium site in
Pinellas and Hillsborough County.
The memorandum of
understanding is filled with caveats, and nuances so here are a few articles
and Posts that may help you sort through it all.
Saintpetersblog, Janelle Irwin: St. Pete City Council
approves Rays deal
Tampa Bay Times, Charlie
Frago: St. Petersburg City Council votes 5-3 to let
Rays search elsewhere for stadium home
Saintpetersblog, Mitch
Perry: Bob Buckhorn
says possible Rays stadium in Tampa will be “complicated transaction”
Saintpetersblog, Janelle Irwin: Subtle MOU provision
means Rays might play “home” games outside of Tampa Bay area
Getting this part of the Rays saga behind us is good
for everyone. Now maybe the Kriseman administration can focus on some of the
more pressing issues in St. Pete.
The Rays deal did come with a bit of a cost as an
"arranged" positive vote was virtually assured by Kriseman's support
of Lisa Wheeler Brown's election along with a great deal of help from the Tampa
Bay Times.
The spotlight now moves to the Rays as they begin to
prepare a site selection process and look forward to navigating the
Hillsborough County and Tampa political waters.
It will become clear as time goes forward a move to
Tampa/Hillsborough County is going to be costly. Stadium costs are one factor
but infrastructure costs, roads, interstate access ramps, water, sewer and
electricity will represent a huge cost. Some think those costs could almost
equal the cost of the stadium in some proposed Hillsborough County locations.
Cost is already a concern of Tampa Mayor Buckhorn who said, “I can’t tell you how we’re going
to pay for this.”
Those facts are what led Mayor Rick Kriseman to the
conclusion that The Trop site will end up being the best deal.
During all of these discussions, do not overlook the
fact that no matter what they say publicly MLB does not like St. Petersburg. They
never have and probably never will. A lot of it has to do with the market and
attendance, but the deal that was just modified by City Council has stuck in
the MLB craw since it was signed.
The City has now put a number on the Rays leaving, $24
million, and if the franchise is really worth $600 million, Sternberg could
likely put the team up for $624 million and get a deal. MLB would not be
unhappy to see that happen.
For now, the Rays get to move from one cranky set of
politicians to another as they poke around in Tampa and Hillsborough County. Bob
Buckhorn has been a bit less baseball excited than he once was since Jeff Vinik
decided he was not particularly interested in baseball.
Mayor Buckhorn would probably like to avoid a stadium
referendum if he is really going to pursue the Governor's office.
With all the trafficking in sports franchises who knows
what might come up. Kriseman's procured vote to get this deal moving just may
come back and bite him. $24 million will hardly get you a good outfielder these
days, and the development rights while enticing is long-range money in the
wind.
Hang on this could be a wild ride.
E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com
or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be
sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay
Post Photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment