ST. PETERSBURG -- St. Pete mayor Rick Kriseman has made his long-awaited decision on a developer for the Tropicana Field site. The outgoing mayor has selected Miami's Midtown Development, whose plan for the site--with or without a baseball stadium--could cost close to $4 billion and include between 6 and 8-thousand homes, along with office space, retail, and a hotel. The biggest question mark, though, is the Rays. Kriseman says that now that there's a developer, the city can "bring the Rays in" and have "serious discussions."
Mayor-elect Ken Welch has issued a statement that neither endorses nor rejects Kriseman's recommendation...but promises to evaluate Midtown's plans as well as "new ideas" for the site.
In the meantime, there are reports that the Rays have met at least four times with Tampa city officials about a proposed 27-thousand seat stadium at E. Palm Ave. and Nuccio Parkway in Ybor City. Times says issues being discussed include ways fans can get to the stadium without cars. The Rays are still pushing the idea of playing half their season here and half in Montreal. Team President Brian Auld has said publicly that this is the only way major league baseball can continue in Tampa Bay.
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