We call ourselves the Tampa Bay market for more than geographical reasons. It’s because contiguous counties can carry more clout collectively than individual entities, notably municipal ones. From beaches to bio-tech, from phosphate to higher education, from the Salvador Dali Museum to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, from Tarpon Springs to Ybor City. It’s who we are.
To be sure, Tampa, home to TIA and a deep-water port, is the commercial hub, but our diversity and symbiosis are our strengths. The Suncoast, St. Petersburg, Tampa: None can be best served by going it solo in the marketplace. That’s why the recruiting of a GOP convention or World Cup games or Super Bowls or a Final Four can only be successful when the area is marketed regionally, relevant resources are marshaled and all strengths are played to.
But speaking of sports.
It’s ironic — and less than encouraging — to see how raw parochialism has roared back in St. Petersburg over the Tampa Bay Rays.
We all know the story. An indoor facility — dated before its debut — that was built on spec because Pinellas and St. Petersburg needed to, well, land something that Hillsborough also wanted. Seemingly, Pinellas, which actually seceded from Hillsborough (in 1911), never got over not getting TIA, Tampa Stadium, Busch Gardens, the main campus of USF, a hockey arena and probably the Mons Venus. The point-of-pride (expansion Devil) Rays changed all that.
But at some point, and arguably that point has been manifest for some time, it became apparent that the status of the Rays could no longer be status quo. A change of ownership, a spiffed-up Tropicana Field, a cadre of good, young talent and a World Series appearance, alas, were still not enough. Not in a relatively “small,” hybrid market such as this one. A market that is weak in corporate (season-ticket buying) headquarters, non-existent in mass transit, persistent in its relocatee allegiances, location-challenged in its stadium location — and blessed, ironically, with lifestyle options superior to indoor summer baseball.
And this much we’ve known for a while: A new, retractable-roof facility is the best option to the outmoded cat-walk house that is among the worst facilities in Major League Baseball. Meaningfully retrofitting the Trop makes less financial sense that razing it.
But that doesn’t address location. The current site is ill-suited geographically – with Corpus Christi the nearest market to the west – and demographically. Tampa Bay is a 3-million population market, but the St. Petersburg location is on the fringe. That’s why the ABC Coalition, the 11-member, private group charged with examining new stadium scenarios, went regional in its look at possible alternatives to the Trop.
ABC, whose formation was strongly encouraged by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, has acknowledged that its assessment of stadium sites includes some in Hillsborough County. The city of St. Petersburg’s response to that – before the final report is even issued – was to go ballistic. St. Pete development director Rick Musset fired off a heat-seeking epistle to ABC that questioned its “ranking” of downtown St. Petersburg behind downtown Tampa, West Shore and the Pinellas Gateway as most viable venue options. The criteria included population, drive times and business distribution. Mussett also reiterated that the Rays were contractually obligated to St. Petersburg until 2027.
A couple of points.
First, there’s precedent for professional sports franchises breaking leases, paying penalties and moving. For the right relocation offer, it’s a cost, albeit steep, of doing business.
Second, it’s eminently understandable why St. Petersburg would want to keep the Rays. But when they had a chance to weigh in on that futuristic Al Lang Field proposal, they acted insulted and blindsided.
It’s time for St. Petersburg officials to get serious about taking one for the team. The regional team. At some point, the choice will no longer be: Where in this Tampa Bay market is the best place for the Rays? The choice will be Charlotte or Las Vegas instead of St. Petersburg.
That’s what lies ahead. Despite the Rays’ feel-good story lines and good-guy images, the harsh reality is this: The Rays need a modern facility logically located in this asymmetrical market. A stadium that will produce higher revenue streams, which will, in turn, enable the Rays to retain their best players and stay relatively competitive with their obscenely deep-pocketed competitors in New York and Boston.
Just think about it. After all those years of hosting spring training and supporting minor league teams, this market finally landed Major League Baseball in 1998. And now there’s a chance that well in advance of 2027 bush league parochialism will prompt its departure.