It's been a long time coming, but this morning the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball franchise, Stu Sternberg addressed the Hillsborough County Commission about where the organization stands in their quest for a new ballpark.
The Rays have a lease that locks them into playing at Tropicana Field until 2027, but with attendance ranking dead last in all of Major League Baseball (MLB) in recent years, Sternberg has made it clear that he wants to find a new home.
Though he hasn't said specifically where that would be, he's been explicit in his desire to have the option of speaking with officials in Tampa — the center of the Tampa Bay region. But St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster had been adamant in not allowing that to happen.
Sternberg admitted toward the end of his presentation today that it's been "frustrating" working with the "second administration" in St. Pete, criticizing Foster without ever mentioning his name.
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2013.