The Trop must have seen its shadow. That means there'll be at least another seven days of inconsequential speculation and minutiae as to where the team is going to maybe-prolly move who-knows-when.
Local media covering the joint press conference Tuesday between St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and Rays president Brian Auld were probably all thinking, 'yes! No more (or at least, somewhat less) making pointless phone calls to get experts to guess what may actually be going on behind closed doors in order to please our bosses' bosses' bosses' bizarre, insatiable thirst for front-page stories on what the Rays might do in five years.
Alas, their collective hope has been thwarted, as a city council decision that could actually set the Rays' stadium search in motion has been delayed. The vote was supposed to take place tomorrow afternoon, Dec. 11, but that date turned out to be no bueno,
On Tuesday Kriseman and team execs lauded an agreement that would let the Rays explore potential new baseball stadium sites in Hillsborough County, though if the team left St. Pete it would cost the club millions.
Rays owner Stu Sternberg basically threatened to sell the team if the city tries to make the Rays play in the Trop until its contract to play there expires in 2027.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said he could think of a few sites near downtown Tampa that could house a stadium and ensuing ancillary development.
So the baseball tunnel had light at the end.
The one catch?
Kriseman and the Rays' plan needs approval from the St. Pete City Council.
Even at Tuesday's press event, Councilman Karl Nurse said he wouldn't sign off on the agreement in its current state; he'd like to see it amended to allow the council to have input as the process moves along.
Former Mayor Bill Foster, not exactly a Kriseman ally, reportedly tried to bend the ear of the council, trying to convince them it was a bad deal for the city.
So now Kriseman is postponing the vote for at least a week.
Because, really, we could have things be straightforward and go smoothly, but that would be. no. fun.
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2014.