Major League Baseball

Rays owner urges regional talks on new stadium

Published Jun. 21, 2010 9:22 p.m. ET

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Rays owner Stuart Sternberg wants to explore potential sites for a new ballpark throughout the Tampa Bay area, reiterating his belief that downtown St. Petersburg is not a viable location for a replacement for Tropicana Field.

Although he did not rule out the prospect of remaining in Pinellas County, the owner called Monday for regional talks that would include discussions about alternative in neighboring Tampa and Hillsborough County.

``I know the facts are too persuasive to ignore. Baseball will not work long term in downtown St. Petersburg,'' said Sternberg, who read a seven-minute statement but did not take questions during a new conference. ``And I know that the Rays want to remain in Tampa Bay.''

The club's lease at Tropicana Field runs through 2027. Sternberg has said repeatedly that the Rays will not be playing in the domed stadium on the edge of downtown when that agreement expires.

Despite owning the best record in baseball for most of this season, the Rays rank 23rd in the major leagues in home attendance, drawing an average of 22,301 per game.

Until Monday, Sternbeg had little to say about the team's desire for a new home since June 2008, when the Rays withdrew a proposal to have a public vote on a plan to build a $450 million downtown waterfront ballpark and announced formation of a coalition of political and business leaders to explore ways to broaden support for a new facility.

The 34,000-seat, open-air stadium would have featured a retractable, sail-like covering and been built on the downtown site of Al Lang Field, where spring training games were played for decades.

Four other areas, including downtown Tampa, have been identified as possible locations for a replacement for The Trop, which opened in 1990 - eight years before the expansion Rays played their first game.

``A major league baseball team's ability to compete, and quite frankly survive, rests on its ability to attract fans and businesses to its ballpark,'' Sternberg, noting that while the team's performance on the field has improved dramatically since he took control of the Rays in October 2005, attendance still lags.

Two years ago, the Rays averaged 22,370 while making an improbable run to the AL pennant and the franchise's first World Series appearance. Attendance climbed slightly to 23,148 in 2009 - second-highest in club history behind the inaugural 1998 season, the only year the Rays have drawn over 2 million fans.

``I spoke to many, many people throughout baseball and throughout the Tampa Bay community. I elicited their opinions about what could be done to ensure that major league baseball would become viable in this region,'' Sternberg said, recalling the first 18 months of his tenure as owner.

``The unanimous response was that it was all about winning. Winning would change everything at Tropicana Field. And with a winning team on the field, an exciting and compelling team that comes to play each and every night, fans would fill the stands. Clearly that has not been the case. We have learned that it is not just about winning. It's not about ticket prices, and it certainly isn't about a lack of interest in this team.''

Sternberg said stressed that the entire Tampa Bay region needs to pull together in an effort to find a solution.

``We need to stop talking about why things can't happen. We can make them happen together. It's a discussion that should start now,'' the owner said.

``Until that discussion begins in earnest, we can not and will not make a decision on a future ballpark in Tampa Bay. And, the air of uncertainty over the future of major league baseball in the area will continue to linger.''

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