The Tampa Bay Rays will soon begin their second year of playing spring training games in their new home in Charlotte County. Part of the their agreement with the local government was the right to sell the stadium's naming rights.
That never happened last year, but the Rays have made a deal with a local company this year, and were hoping for a quick approval yesterday by the Charlotte County Commission.
But in a breathtakingly ignorant move, the deal was with Mosaic, the phosphate mining company that the County government has spent over $12 million unsuccessfully fighting in court over new mines the company wanted to build in Manatee and DeSoto counties, as described in detail in today's St. Pete Times by environmental reporter Craig Pittman. Opponents have said that the mining threatens the harbor's health and the region's water supply.
The Rays pulled the item off the agenda moments before the Charlotte County Commission was to vote on the issue. Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn says the team wants to have a vote on the issue at the next scheduled meeting on February 26.
(By the way, in another example of why you should not use Wikipedia for research purposes, the online encyclopedia has a listing for "Mosaic Field at Charlotte Park").
(Groups like the Sierra Club, Earthjustice Manasota 88 and the Gulf Restoration Network have been involved for years as well against plans by Mosaic to phosphate strip-mine on the Altman Tract in Manatee County.)
The Rays plight is another example of corporate sponsorship gone wrong. What used to be unique (selling naming rights to a park or stadium for a fee that helps to build the facility or maintain it) is now commonplace, and though distasteful for many fans, most grudgingly have accepted that it's part of doing business these days (since it theoretically means less lynching of taxpayers money).
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2010.