Stadium Talk

[deerayfan072]

The County has announced that they are willing to use a tourist tax to help pay for the stadium, but not a property tax. The Rays have never asked for the property tax and have also never gone to the county so this is a good thing. They also received a bid today for 65 million to purchase the Trop. That money would go right into the stadium with the $150 million Stu has already pledged out of his own pocket. That means the Rays would only need 235 million from other sources. One of the main areas that would come from is the money that comes from the revenue of the new Trop site, which is estimated at 850 million. They are working with the city now to fix a couple of things the city did not like about the proposal:

1) They wanted the Rays offices moved from next to the mahaffey theater (Rays said not problem)
2) The city says they want a parking garage built to hold some of the spots (Rays say fine, but disagree about who should pay for that, I agree with the Rays because the city did an independent 350 page traffic study, which I have read , that states there is enough parking without a garage
3) They will need to widen bayshore and move the planned park on the north side of the stadium a bit to accomodate the St. Pete grand prix

There is a lot of arguing here from residents because the St. Pete times, IMO has not done a good job of reporting everything about the stadium. I hope we get it on the ballot and it goes through because it is an awesome idea. (plus I am about to buy a condo right across the street from the place )

[raiders_umpire]

There is a lot of arguing here from residents because the St. Pete times, IMO has not done a good job of reporting everything about the stadium

Shocking. Hard to believe the Times did not report everything.

[deerayfan072]

There is a lot of arguing here from residents because the St. Pete times, IMO has not done a good job of reporting everything about the stadium

Shocking. Hard to believe the Times did not report everything.

Sadly this is true. They have slanted the crap out of everything

[jlm53089]

Thats the times for you...

I still think the stadium should be where Channelside is. But thats just me.

[deerayfan072]

The city wants the Rays to build a 3,500 parking garage because they claim there isn't enough parking. I was talking with a buddy and I think it is that the city wants a new paring garage and wants the Rays to build it. There is an independent traffic study that the city had done that states there is enough parking and the city claims there is 1,000 less than the study says. The garage would be used for the city the other 281 days out of the year. I really think the Rays are the ones being taken advantage of in this part

[jlm53089]

Yes they are but at times you kinda have to bend to get what you want.

[deerayfan072]

ST. PETERSBURG - Representatives of the Tampa Bay Rays and the anti-stadium group Preserve Our Wallets and Waterfront will meet this afternoon to discuss the team's proposed downtown ballpark.

The two sides will present their opposing viewpoints to the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College. The 1:30 p.m. meeting in the Lewis House at Eckerd, 4200 54th Ave. S., will include a question-and-answer session and be open to the public.

[deerayfan072]

They are no longer seeking a November referendum. They are starting from scratch and will explore all possibilities to place the stadium, including Tampa and closer to Orlando. They are shooting for a referendum in 2010

[raiders_umpire]

They might really be the Tampa Rays in a few years. Probably a smart move.

[deerayfan072]

They might really be the Tampa Rays in a few years. Probably a smart move.

Silverman says they want to keep it in St. Pete and the new sites they are looking at are: The Trop (building something new there), The waterfront, Gandy area (where the dog track is), and by the skyway bridge