10,800

[Bull-by-Marriage]

Hillsborough doesn't have the money, the people of Pinellas **** near rioted when the idea was thrown on the table 2 years ago.

The Rays are going to have to wait to get a new stadium and that is going to be awhile.

I guarentee they start playing hardball this offseason. New stadium or we're looking elsewhere.

Hillsborough actually does have the money it's just earmarked for other priorities....because no one in Hills has made this a priority.  The tax that paid for RayJay is about to expire, and could be extended to pay for a new stadium.  St. Petersburg would love to keep the Rays to keep from making their city completely irrelevant from the Tampa metro landscape.

The problem this area is running into is every darn study clearly says there is no good home for the Rays in south pinellas.  The ownership now has bought into this and really is refusing to consider anything in pinellas.  So this will get ugly before it gets pretty, and they will play hardball.  Given the circumstances this could become real testy since it's becoming clear the ownership wants to be in Tampa, Tampa people are starting to want them in Tampa, and Pinellas residents are starting to resent such talks but yet can't find a concensus on where to put it.  The issue that's going to come into play is moving to another Pinellas site the Rays could probably sell the land of the trop and contribute to the building of a new site...but moving to Tampa...they'd probably have to leave that site to Pinellas and walk-away with nothing, thus Hillsborough and tampa would need to carry more weight, a lot more weight, which could hurt their bid.

Hillsborough has land near the fair grounds, and supposedly a downtown Tampa site has recently been assembled (this would be the pancea downtown tampa needs to complete invigorate the downtown, 82 baseball games in downtown to bring 25-30k down almost nightly.

Like this area needed another reason for Hills and Pinellas County officials to dislike one another.  It will set back the mass transit talks 20 years.

I know that H.C. doesn't have money for a stadium. All of the money from the CIT is slotted for much more important uses such as Fire stations and the such. Even if they did have the money, there's the extremely sticky issue of tampering. The downtown land has not been assembled, if you use google earth and measure the footprint for a small BB stadium, you'll find that it's next to  impossible without some serious moving/demolition of buildings, and then it may affect the Selmon expressway. There's barely enough parking for downtown employees now, and that's after RIF's and layoffs. It seems that people think that the local governments have more money than they actually do.

Hillsborough actually does have the money it's just earmarked for other priorities....because no one in Hills has made this a priority.

Do you not read or just have a 'know it all wannabe' complex.  The money is earmarked elsewhere but could be switched if it received necessary votes.  A big IF, but still available.  I said essentially the same thing thanks for reiterating...And there is enough land...your 'sophisticated' google earth concept doesn't include the proposed demo'ing of some existing property which I've been explained.  A few prominent real estate developers have already received tentative commitments in downtown, and near the fairgrounds.  The fairgrounds site although could go to a major hotel developer if this takes to long for a decision.

You're right bp, I'm just a know it all wannabe, I have no idea about the Hillsborough County budget process. Are there any surveys completed that designate what the new property boundaries would be? Are there already completed stadium plans that assure the "prominent real estate developers" that there is enough space to build one? Tell me, what rights-of-way would they vacate downtown, Morgan, Channelside, Jefferson, Brorein, Cumberland, Caesar, Nebraska, Eunice, and/or relocate the North/East entrance ramp to the Selmon? Do you have any idea how the vacating process works, or any idea how long it takes to have a right-of-way vacated, let alone multiple? Or, are you just a know it all wannabe?