- Jun 10, 2014
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Founding Member
How about just fold tent and award another city the franchise?
Nashville would take them.
How about just fold tent and award another city the franchise?
the good folks in Montreal will pony up for a shiny, new stadium. It's the world we live in.
Who cares?
The Ray’s farm team sucksThis is a nice diversion from all the bytching in the recruiting thread.
What bothers me most about this is the dithering. This has been going on for a decade. Both sides deserve blame. If the politicos in Hillsborough can't or won't dig deep, then say that. Sternberg should clearly articulate how much he is willing to spend and at least which county he thinks will work.
That St. Pete mayor thinks he's holding all the cards and that somehow it is ordained by him or God that the Rays play there at least through 2027. He is wrong. The Rays can play wherever they wish - only with MLB's blessing. They would have to pay St. Pete if they leave before '27, but as I understand it, that amount shrinks each year and already is not onerous. St. Pete's saving grace is that there are no other cities with MLB-ready stadiums standing by waiting for a tenant because if there were, they'd probably be gone by now.
I was in Richmond when the AAA Braves bolted for Gwinnett. It was a similar story - the team had wanted a new stadium for years and in their defense, they'd played in the same one since 1966 and it was falling apart. Literally. Chunks of concrete breaking off. The idiot politicians dicked around for years - maybe as long as the Rays' saga has played out. One in a long line of moron mayors even, with a straight face, proposed building on a dump (literally, a dumpsite) in an awful part of town. One day, with zero notice or media leaks, the Braves announced they had packed up and were leaving for Gwinnett. At first, it was shocking, but after the dust settled, most reasonable people didn't blame them. The politicians never took the idea seriously that the team could actually leave. Wrongo. And the Braves & Richmond were, for a long time, considered a model for AAA baseball.
And I mention the Richmond "parable" because what's happening with the Rays feels oddly similar. The Rays can leave whenever they wish (with MLB's approval). They'd have to pay - but it is a huge mistake to believe they will not bolt if a good offer comes along (one that might very well pay St. Pete for them). And the Rays are not, nor have they ever been considered a "model" for MLB. Probably the only reason the area got the team in the first place was Naimoli's persistence and the threat of litigation from the Giants' failed move.
So, both sides: stop dithering. Either negotiate in good faith to get this done - or agree to part.
It's the beginning of the end.
Stu basically went nuclear
the blowback is pretty bad. Instead of the "oh crap we better do something" attitude he was hoping for...he now has people volunteering to help him pack.
I agree. Well, endgame, anyway.
I disagree - but only by degree. "Nuclear" would be announcing an irrevocable move to another city/state. But this announcement was definitely a massive shot across the bow, to add another tortured metaphor.
The "volunteering to help him pack" contingent has always been the loudest and they've been shrieking the same message for years. Yes, it has gotten a bit louder in the 24 hours since this announcement was made. And I think there are more people that take this position in this market than most others - which doesn't help build a ballpark.
Some have speculated that Stu has given up and this is the first step of several that will allow him to say, "Hey, we really tried." after they end up someplace else. I hope they're wrong.
The problem is he doesn't want to pony up any money. He's getting a quarter bill a year in revenue but doesn't want to spend it. F him.
I've read that he'll spend some, but he has been vague with the figure.
Local officials may want the team to pony up around half - figure $400-500M. Will other cities pay the full freight for the stadium, relo costs and to pay off St. Pete? Somewhere in between?
In Tampa Bay's favor is an existing fan base that supports the team very well with regard to TV ratings, and it is the largest MSA of any area identified as a possible relo city. And the team has been building its fan base and chipping fans away from northern teams for a generation now. He'd be starting from scratch in another city - though probably with fewer northern transplants to convert.
Is there an appetite in other cities to spend more than a billion taxpayer dollars to attract and relocate an MLB team and build a stadium? I don't know. If yes, they're probably gone. If no, then what's the delta between what he'll have to dig out of his own pocket to stay, as opposed to what he'll have to pay in the new city? That, plus the TV stuff, will tell the tale.
And I disagree with "F him". You, me and anybody else would try to get the best deal we could, if we were in his shoes. Though, he could dial back the opacity a bit. That might help build some goodwill.
it's not gonna happen here.
You may be right.
Though, it did happen for the Bucs and Ray Jay. So with that precedent, there is a chance. But if I had to bet my hard-earned wampum on it, as of today, I'd bet they'll leave. I hope I'm wrong.
The Rays are dead to me since they hired Kevin Cash. We had season tickets for years and the benefits of being a season ticket holder began to dwindle every year after Stu took over until we finally dropped to a quarter season plan and then killed it all together when Cash was hired.He destroyed any goodwill he had built up. My mom is a diehard Rays fan...watches every game and they go to a game here and there even at their age...she's pissed at him. She's about to give up on them. He wants corporate welfare...a hand out. Again, F him. it's not gonna happen here.