Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Jake's Reaction To Comments made by Rays Owner, Stu Sternberg, on future of Rays Franchise

I know I promised the "losers" part of the draft review, however what's on my mind right now is how Rays bloggers and fans have been reacting towards comments made by Rays majority owner Stu Sternberg yesterday.

In short, Stu announced that the current stadium(Tropicana Field) and its current location(Downtown St. Petersburg, FL) aren't viable towards the improvement and success of the franchise. He basically stated that he's looking into more centralized populated areas still in the surrounding area(though preferably closer to the Tampa area) because he feels both he, business-wise, and fans deserve a better venue.

News came out today that if they can't find a location and if Tampa/St. Pete can't work together finding a new home for the Rays, he'd either sell the team or move it. With that said, I applaud Stu for getting the ball rolling. He did it the right way, when trying to put his own plan together with his initial stadium idea. Residents poo-pooed that idea, but he never gave up the idea. Now, he had to use the next tactic, which is a somewhat threatening tone. If a town/city wants to sit on their hands and act as if nothing is a problem, you gotta push them sometimes.

He's correct, #s don't lie, when saying that the current location isn't viable. Barely half the population of the greater downtown st. Pete area is within a 30 minute drive. While places like Tampa and other possible sites have a more centralized population.

I'm an outsider, I'm from IL, but I'd like to visit FL and go to a Rays game where I didn't have to drive 30+ minutes to drive to a stadium where there's only 1 way to get in and out. Next thing, after finding a new location, is creating and mass-transit system. We're in the 2000s, Tampa and St. Pete, use technology for once.

However, if they can't find a new location, I hope Stu keeps ownership of the team and relocates it...Art Moddell-style.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

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