My apologies for not keeping you all updated before now on the Atlanta Braves spring training controversy in Tampa Bay, which has now managed to draw the Rays stadium mess into its orbit:
- The Braves owners, a Tampa Bay developer, and former MLB star and Tampa native Gary Sheffield (best known these days as “that guy with the ridiculous beard who sits next to Pedro Martinez on TBS”) revealed plans to build a $662 million spring training and sports complex on the former Toytown landfill, in Pinellas County just north of St. Pete. The group would be seeking $6.5 million a year in county subsidies (about $100 million in present value), or $10.5 million a year if a second team joined the Braves there, presumably because having an extra couple dozen spring training games every March is such a huge economic boon. (Spoiler: It’s not.)
- The Toytown site, you may recall, is one of the sites that the Rays owners might be looking at for a new major-league stadium, if they ever get permission to look at sites outside of St. Petersburg, which don’t hold your breath. Also, any Rays stadium developers would likely have their eyes on the same county subsidies as the Braves project.
- MLB issued a statement telling the Braves to get offa the Rays’ lawn: “Major League Baseball appreciates the support that it has received for the construction of Spring Training facilities throughout the State of Florida. The most pressing need, however, is the construction of a Major League-quality facility for the Rays.”
- The Tampa Tribune used this as an opportunity not just to flip about about the Braves demanding public money that should rightfully go to the local sports team owner instead, but to say that this should be a “wakeup call” to St. Petersburg to let the Rays move to the suburbs, because otherwise they … might not move to the suburbs?
Tempest in a teacup, most likely, but a pretty darn entertaining one, if only for MLB having to come up with a way to say, “Thanks for throwing money at our spring training facilities, but please throw money at our big-league teams first.”
The Tampa Tribune has a long history of less-than-civic-minded advocacy for stadium projects. The Sports section has long been the “intellectual leader” of the paper, led by its editor, Tom MacEwan, who always saw the self-interest in having sports teams to cover.
The Trib was a major advocate of bringing a baseball team to the Tampa Bay area, despite the fact that the ownership groups were thin on cash and the area not having the business density to support the team. The Trib also led the foolish drive for a new Bucs stadium, despite the awful lease that would have been easy fodder for any journalist wanting a Pulitzer.
Because the team is located in St. Pete, the Tribune really doesn’t care much about civic finances and instead wants the most comfortable gameday experience for itself. Why anyone would be in a hurry to abrogate an iron-clad, city friendly lease is beyond me–particularly as it is unlikely that ANY other location in the Tampa location would significantly upgrade the team’s income.
The Rays might not move to the suburbs. True, they might move to another city. For example, the city of Indianapolis might not only build a new stadium for the Rays but might pay the Rays penalties for leaving Florida. Heck, the city of Atlanta might do it and renovate Turner Field for the Rays.
$662 million for a spring training complex???? That has to be at least three times as expensive as the next most costly facility (I recall the six year old Goodyear facility for the Reds and Indians costing an “eye popping” $105m).
The question is not whether the Braves should get a new spring training stadium in the St. Pete area. The question that should be asked is what is the Braves’ business plan that allows them to make money in the St. Pete area while the Yankees and Rays are in the same area? If there is a way that three teams can make money in the same area in spring training, that has to be a lesson for how the Rays can bring-in more fans during the regular season.
The Braves stadium rendering makes me think with a few extra thousand seats the Rays could use that same stadium for some games (Padres vs Rays interleague) during the regular season. But that would take cooperation between lodge members…
Maybe the Braves could do spring training at Turner Field in Atlanta.