At this point, it’s not if the Rays are going to ditch the Trop, it’s when. But with St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster giving the Rays the silent treatment, and Tampa unable to come up with a credible alternative (there’s no way Hillsborough voters will approve a new stadium tax, and Tampa officials have been unable to find the money elsewhere in the budget), the story of the Rays stadium woes is essentially unchanged since the collapse of the waterfront stadium plan. Don’t tell the local press, however, which seems to produce “breaking news” on the stadium almost every month. So what if these stories are all rehash? The illusion of activity is enough to grab eyeballs, which is all that counts in today’s stat-driven media landscape. So join us next week, when we’ll share breaking news on a possible deal for a Rays stadium …
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2012.