A long-discussed plan that would finally allow the Tampa Bay Rays management to begin discussing a possible stadium in Hillsborough County could come before the St. Petersburg City Council as early as next week, and indications are that the votes are there to have that happen.
The immediate focus after that, of course, what sites the Rays will be looking at in Hillsborough.
One of the usual suspects, when the topic arises, is the Westshore area of Tampa, which was listed as one of only three locations that had sufficient population density and concentration of businesses to support Major League Baseball in the ABC Coalition report produced six years ago this month.
Speculation has it that the best site in the Westshore business district would be where Jefferson High School currently exists. But Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says that’s not his favorite choice.
“I think that would complicate things immensely,” Buckhorn said Thursday morning on 970 WFLA-AM in Tampa. “The Jefferson High alumni, as well as the current students, I think, would have an opinion about that.”
“As an alumni, you’re right,” interjected co-host Tedd Webb.
“There’s a lot of history at that school, and I don’t know whether that’s the right site or not, given those complications,” Buckhorn continued. “There are other sites that are far less complicated that I think would be a better fit.”
Buckhorn is part of a committee formed to work on bringing the Rays to Hillsborough County, once the team has negotiated a deal with the St. Petersburg city government.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, Tampa Sports Authority President and CEO Eric Hart, Fifth Third Bank President and CEO Brian Lamb, and Charlie Sykes of Sykes Enterprises are the other members of that group.
Buckhorn told Webb and Jack Harris that his personal preference is that the park be constructed in the “urban core,” though the site most frequently mentioned when discussing such a downtown park — Channelside — appears to be off the table, as the master redevelopment plan being devised by Jeff Vinik‘s Strategic Property Partners and Cascade Investment has no room for such a park.
“They (Major League Baseball) want it in the downtown area because they want it to be walkable and pedestrian friendly and surrounded by development,” the mayor said. “If it were to go to the (Florida State) Fairgrounds or on Dale Mabry next to Raymond James, none of that would happen.”
A potential stadium with a retractable dome has been estimated to cost about $600 million, with the Rays management previously saying they would finance a third of that.
“We’d have to find a site, and more importantly, find a way to finance it, which I can tell you will be very, very very difficult and the Rays are going to have to come to the table with a significant amount of money,” he said.
Buckhorn is scheduled to address the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club on Friday in a joint appearance with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, where undoubtedly the Rays will be a part of the conversation.
