Two days after Hillsborough County Commissioner Chairman Ken Hagan issued an invitation to the head of a group recommending potential new sites for the Tampa Bay Rays, his colleagues on the Board today discussed what he was up to.
The ABC Coalition, a group of St. Petersburg citizens charged by former Mayor Rick Baker with coming up with a plan for alternative sites for the Rays to possibly play, was met somewhat coldly by new Mayor Bill Foster and City Council Chair Leslie Curran when their report was released in January. The report included 5 possible sites, 3 of them in Hillsborough County.
Hagan said today that the lack of any type of response by St. Pete officials saddened him, but that he felt strongly that the BOCC should hear from the ABC group. He also said he had check on Tuesday with County Attorney Renee Lee, who assured him that there was nothing inappropriate with meeting with the group. The Commission Chair also said he wanted to make clear there was not any specific site that he favored in the County for a possible ballpark, and that he did absolutely not support any public financing for a park. However, he did apologize that his letter was sent on letterhead that listed him as Commission Chair, and not speaking for himself as the representative of District Two.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.