Rays urge Tampa businesses to advocate for stadium

Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman on Friday said the team has made no final decisions about its stadium or future location, and he urged Tampa's business community to be its advocate in the stadium issue.

Silverman, team manager Joe Maddon and Rays players and broadcasters spoke to the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce at its annual Rays luncheon Friday at the Tampa Marriott Waterside in downtown.

During his speech to the chamber, Silverman said the team wants to stay in the Bay area for the long term. But several times he implied the team's future in the Bay area is in jeopardy unless the team's stadium situation is worked out.

The Rays have said they can't stay at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg until its stadium contract expires in 2027, and the team wants to look throughout the Bay area for new stadium sites. However, St. Petersburg has insisted the team look within the city's boundaries for stadium sites.

"Tampa Bay is the only home the Rays have ever known, and we'd like to find a way to keep it that way," Silverman told the crowd of several hundred businesspeople.

"We have no grand plans. No decisions have been made," he said, adding that all the team has is a bunch of questions.

After the speech, Silverman said the team would consider stadium locations inside St. Petersburg when it also is allowed to consider sites outside the city. Any talk that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig might force the issue is "just rumors," he said.

Silverman appeared to be speaking to a sympathetic crowd Friday. The Tampa chamber jumped into the Rays stadium debate last year, creating a caucus that will study how public or private sources can pay for future sports stadiums. The chamber has insisted it will not tackle where these stadiums should go, dodging the stadium debate's most controversial issue.

Chamber Chief Executive Officer Bob Rohrlack said the Tampa chamber has invited its counterpart across the bay, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, to participate in the stadium caucus. The St. Petersburg chamber has accepted the invitation, Rohrlack said.

The caucus hasn't yet had its first meeting, but one early idea is that venture capitalists may provide some private money for a stadium. The Tampa chamber also is planning a trip in August to Philadelphia, which has found a way to finance sports stadiums using private money, Rohrlack said.

msasso@tampatrib.com