4 years in the past, the Tampa Bay Rays offered a plan to play in a brand new ballpark in Tampa’s Ybor Metropolis. The fee was only $892 million and the Rays demanded that native cities pay the vast majority of the price. The plan went down the drain and workforce has continued taking part in at Tropicana Subject. As some famous on the time, not like many different homeowners of sports activities groups, the Rays proprietor, Stu Sternberg, possible doesn’t have the monetary checking account to outright fund a brand new ballpark by himself. So, he actually, actually wants metropolis/state cash to fund any new ballpark that he builds. When he does get a brand new ballpark, he’ll possible get a major quantity of monetary backing from native cities/state. This implies the general public will go loopy, native leaders will play silly, after which the deal will likely be signed.
Thus, it is very important preserve particulars of any new sports activities residence as quiet as potential till the final second in order that the general public can’t do something because of the lack of time left earlier than an settlement is accomplished. Many, if not most sports activities groups, need their negotiations to be as secret as potential. We have now seen that many occasions, including most recently in Calgary
However a number of months in the past, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida (the place the Tampa Bay Rays present ballpark is situated) introduced plans to redevelop Tropicana Subject. The winner got here from a joint bid, which included the Tampa Bay Rays. This meant that after two and a half years, there was lastly one thing being accomplished on this piece of public land. The consultants employed by the mayor most popular a bid that didn’t embody the Rays, however let’s save that for an additional day. As an alternative, the mayor famous that the bid with the Rays was finest for the world as a result of the Rays can be the “best partner” for town and that this bid introduced probably the most “community benefits” provided by bidders. Among the many three phases of development, the Rays new ballpark can be constructed within the first part and be prepared for the 2028 baseball season. Then comes building for inexpensive housing, workplace areas, retail heaps and different issues over the past two phases. In accordance with the successful bidders, the general growth may have a “$1.4 billion economic impact”. I can’t look forward to that declare to be laughed at years from now. Do not forget that proper now, with the Rays in Tropicana Subject, town of St. Petersburg brings in $73 million in tourist taxes.
Quick-forward months later to at present, and we haven’t heard something from anybody. How is our so-called metropolis companion doing with negotiations? In accordance with the Tampa Bay Times, everybody concerned within the challenge is speaking and assembly usually. They’re simply deliberately stopping any method for the general public to see what’s being mentioned by making few if something accessible for public data. What little data we do have paints an extremely calculated method of maintaining the general public out of the negotiations for so long as potential. First, the successful bidders and different employed consultants are assembly with metropolis council members individually in order that they will get around Sunshine Law rules and subsequently preserve every part quiet.
As one metropolis council member said publicly, “They requested us to not share the conversations”. One other metropolis council member mentioned with a straight face that the scale of this challenge was so huge and sophisticated. Subsequently, in the event that they informed the general public details about it and “someone doesn’t know the whole story, they might arrive at a conclusion that is simply not accurate”. We wouldn’t need that now, would we?
Right here is the one and solely e mail dialog that we do know about:
- “Is a authorized doc not lawyer shopper privileged?”
- “One technique of maintaining this out of the general public area till we’re accomplished is having exterior counsel work on it and making it privileged.”
The Tampa Bay Occasions does an excellent job of noting that this e mail, some textual content messages and details about conferences being placed on the calendar is EVERYTHING we’ve got for the reason that unique announcement was made months in the past. So despite the fact that that is public land and the events will likely be receiving vital taxpayer assist, town of St. Petersburg is denying all interview requests or interviews usually. A giant motive for the secrecy is probably going because of the hope that the deal might be accomplished as rapidly as potential. Out of nowhere a number of weeks in the past, the Rays owner stated that if a deal wasn’t accomplished by the tip of 2023, then there can be no deal in any respect.
.jpg "The Tampa Bay Rays Avoid Almost All Public Records When Negotiating Their New Ballpark 2")
Remember that final 12 months, this proprietor did give you the single worst idea ever thought about in human sports activities historical past. He proposed an concept to separate residence video games between Montreal and Tampa Bay. So as an alternative of attempting to get one new ballpark, he would get….two? That’s, when he isn’t being sued by former/current minority owners of his personal workforce.
