Note to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Good move in releasing that internal report showing possible stadium-site options. That’s how you generate momentum and grass roots enthusiasm. Not with what may be perceived as presumptuous decrees.
And nothing, candidly, says viable quite like the Carillon Town Center across from Feather Sound by Tampa Bay – near an I-275 exit. Parking is not an issue and a population of 1.2 million is within a 30-mile drive. That is double the population base for either Tropicana Field or a downtown St. Petersburg waterfront site.
In short, the nearer to Tampa, the hub of the Tampa Bay marketplace, the better. The closest market west of St. Petersburg is Corpus Christi. The Rays are a regional franchise – and that includes Orlando.