Here we go again.
On Tuesday, Stuart Sternberg, the principal shareholder of the Tampa Bay Rays’ ownership group, revamped his effort to get the Rays out of Tropicana Field and into a new stadium.
Speaking in front of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, Sternberg and a group of Rays’ executives presented their case for needing options to relocate to a new stadium.
The group claims that the organization, which was last in Major League Baseball in attendance during the 2012 season with an average of 19,255 fans per game, is struggling because it is “handcuffed to the Trop.”
“If they were located in a better location, I would definitely go to more games,” said John Bos, a Tampa resident. “But right now it is almost an hour trip there, and an hour trip back. The Rays are one of the top 10 MLB teams when it comes to television ratings. So the fan base is there.”
The stadium debate has not changed since the issue was last discussed in 2009. The Rays have a lease agreement with the city of St. Petersburg to remain at Tropicana Field through the year 2027, and the agreement prohibits them from discussing possible relocation with other cities. St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster uses this provision to stop any relocation talks.
“Attendance would be way better in Tampa,” said Sal Cenete, of Tampa, “Look at the Lightning. Four straight sellouts and the tickets cost double what the Rays charge.”
Sternberg is lobbying for support to move the team to another location within the Tampa Bay region. He continually references the findings of a report published by the ABC Coalition — which identified four possible sites for relocation (three were in Hillsborough County) — as the best solution to the Rays’ current attendance and revenue issues.
St. Petersburg generates millions in tax revenue every year by simply having the Rays in the city, and Tropicana Field provides hundreds of jobs to people within a region that has struggled economically for some time. Sternberg says he is losing money every year by paying out millions to keep high-end players but barely getting any revenue in return.
Rays fans in St. Petersburg naturally have a different view on relocation.
“The reason there are so few season ticket holders in St. Pete is that [Sternburg] said the team was going to be vaporized and everyone knows they are moving out of the city,” said Michael Kirchner, a St. Petersburg native. “Why would they invest in a team that has clearly stated ‘we hate our home and we want to leave’?”
These opinions represent the dilemma that the Rays’ ownership faces in regards to relocation. With three times more relocation options located in Hillsborough, the Rays risk further alienating a fan base that has already endured years of “will they or won’t they?” questions concerning the team potentially moving. If the Rays do not move, they risk not being able to sustain themselves in the future.
Commission Chairman Kenneth T. Welch understands the dilemma and encouraged a meeting between Foster and Sternberg, noting “if the mayor comes to a point where he allows you to look at both counties, I would be very supportive of that because I don’t see another way forward.”
Samantha Ouimette is the sports editor of The Crow’s Nest. She can be reached at sports@crowsneststpete.com.
Photo contributed by Opakapaka.
