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Rays Make Bad Call In Pitching Downtown Site For New Ballpark

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2007

The idea floated Friday by the Tampa Bay Rays sounds lovely: a new open-air ballpark on downtown St. Petersburg's waterfront.

But on second blush, the 10-acre site faces many drawbacks and one fatal flaw: no room for on-site parking.

The team would have fans find spots in existing parking garages or on downtown streets.

Merchants love the idea, since die-hard fans would likely arrive hours before the game to avoid circling the block a few hundred times. But if the Rays are serious about attracting more fans from across the region, the last thing they should do is make the ballpark harder to reach.

A better location could be the city-owned site now occupied by Albert Whitted Airport, which occupies 120 acres of prime bayfront land.

Citizens rejected a proposal to replace the airport with a new public park and some modest development four years ago, fearing an explosion of high-rise condominiums. But given the public use of a ballpark - and St. Petersburg's love affair with the team - it might be possible to sell voters on the idea.

No doubt, the pitch poses a challenge. But the team faces a voter referendum no matter the site. St. Pete's charter requires voter approval for long-term leases on city-owned land, which includes Al Lang Field at Progress Energy Park.

As revealed Friday, the team wants to build a 35,000-seat open-air ballpark on the site of the 7,000-seat Al Lang, where it will hold one last spring training before moving the boys of spring to Charlotte County in 2009.

The Rays envision building a ballpark like that in San Francisco, where long home-run balls can splash in the bay.

But there's a big difference between St. Petersburg and San Francisco in the summertime. According to urban legend, Mark Twain said it best: The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

The Trop may be a cavernous dome, but at least it's got shade and air conditioning.

In an open-air facility, Rays fans would swelter in the summer sun. Heck, fans at Raymond James Stadium complain about afternoon football games - in September. Consider the baseball fan experience during the dregs of summer. It's not a pretty picture.

Then there's the rain. The Florida Marlins, who play in Dolphins Stadium north of Miami, have led the league in rain delays more than once. Someone needs to tell the Rays' New York owner that afternoon deluges are a summer staple in Florida.

Besides, given the economic climate these days, it's unlikely the team could win approval from state lawmakers for a proposal to help fund construction. The team proposes that the state rebate some future sales taxes from purchases made at the ballpark. The Marlins have tried - without luck - to get a similar rebate for years, even though a Miami representative is speaker of the Florida House.

Citizens are tired of funding sports stadiums. Just last week, Sarasota voters refused a $16 million bond referendum to rebuild Ed Smith Sports Complex, where the Cincinnati Reds hold spring training. The Reds have promised to leave without a new facility.

So it's good to see Rays owner Stuart Sternberg offer to put up a third of the construction money - about $130 million - himself. But if he's willing to invest that kind of money in the team's success, far better that he invest in the team itself.

People don't stay away from the Trop because of its ambience. They stay away - except to see winning teams like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox - because the Rays have yet to field a winning team.

And now, after saying for years that success will come from building a strong nucleus of players, fans recently learned that any and all players are available for trade.

The Rays don't need a new stadium to be successful. They need a winning team.

Who knows? If they invest in the team itself, maybe in a couple of years St. Pete residents would feel more kindly about giving the Rays a long-term lease on a better site.

For now, the Rays should keep their eye on the ball, not the horizon.

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