Rays stadium group to present to Hillsborough commission

The city of St. Petersburg will be watching closely when a civic group pushing for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium brings its pitch to the Hillsborough County Commission.

The ABC Coalition, which is recommending a stadium to replace Tropicana Field, is scheduled to speak at the Hillsborough County Commission's May 19 meeting, county commission Chairman Ken Hagan said. Hagan in February sent a letter to the ABC Coalition inviting it to make a presentation to the board.

Who gets to meet with the ABC Coalition - and who doesn't - has been a touchy subject. St. Petersburg officials have declined to meet with the ABC Coalition, because the coalition started looking in Hillsborough for potential ballpark locations.

The best sites are the mid-Pinellas County area just west of the Howard Frankland Bridge, Tampa's West Shore area and downtown Tampa, the ABC Coalition found in a report on the subject.

St. Petersburg's attorney, John Wolfe, also has been keeping an eye out for something called "tortious interference." Basically, the city is watching for anything that interferes with St. Petersburg's contract with the Rays, which obligates the team to play at Tropicana Field through 2027.

When asked whether the city objects to the Hillsborough County Commission meeting with the ABC Coalition, Wolfe said, "It depends on what they say."

Other governments have also been careful not to offend the city. Last month, the Pinellas County Commission allowed the coalition to make its presentation recommending a new stadium. But Pinellas commissioners wouldn't engage in any discussion with the coalition.

For his part, Hagan says he is just trying to hear out the ABC Coalition and start a dialogue about the Rays' future throughout the Tampa Bay area. Hagan said the team needs a new stadium, but Hillsborough is not trying to steal the team from St. Petersburg, and he is not advocating using public money for a new stadium.

Hagan met with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster last week about the Rays and spoke cordially about the need for the community to support the team, he said.

"My concern is just to make sure the Rays remain in the region," he said.