A number of St. Petersburg, and Rays, centric articles have been published in the last 10 days. Some of those articles painted St. Petersburg in an incredibly flattering light. Others have tread that familiar ground, where the tired, clichéd, “Tampa is only legitimate home for the Rays,” opinion has been espoused. Let’s review a few of those articles, and I’ll briefly discuss them below.
- January 10, 2014 — The New York Times called St. Petersburg one of the top 52 places in the world, to visit in 2014.
- January 17, 2014 — Stephen Nohlgren of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that Tampa mayor, Bob Buckhorn called baseball in the Sunshine City a failed business model that “Clearly (it) doesn’t work in St. Petersburg,” in an article about former Rays stadium czar, Michael Kalt.
- January 19, 2014 — Josh Boatwright of TBO.com called St. Petersburg a hip destination that is shedding the tag of “God’s waiting room.”
- January 20, 2014 — Peter Schorsch of SaintPetersBlog asserted that now, more than ever, it’s time to let the Rays go.
The praise being rained down upon St. Petersburg, especially from sources outside the Bay Area, is flattering to say the least. For years, St. Pete had been viewed, by many, as the second-rate little brother of Tampa. The sleepy tourist haven, known as the Sunshine City, has made strides over the last 15 years to redefine itself — something that has, increasingly, become evident in the last five-to-seven years. What exactly do these flattering pieces have to do with the Rays?
I’ll admit it, I’m a sports talk radio fanatic. I find most of what’s talked about, on any given show or station, to be nothing more than pure, laugh-out-loud worthy, entertainment. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve listened as callers remarked, “There’s nothing to do in St. Pete before or after games,” or, “St. Pete is a dead city.” If anything, this round of flattering articles flies in the face of the throng of largely uninformed opinions.
Therein lies a problem. It’s rare to find an article that includes the Rays in a conversation of St. Petersburg’s attributes. Perhaps the newly elected mayor (or even Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg, for that matter) will, somehow, tie in our beloved small market franchise with all the positive public relations momentum. Not all the articles were flattering, however.
Michael Kalt, the former stadium czar for the Tampa Bay Rays, announced his resignation from the organization this week, seeking the greener pastures of New York City. Stephen Nohlgren, who penned a piece on the departure for the Tampa Bay Times, wrote,
“Neither the team nor Kalt gave any indication that the move relates to the stadium stalemate between the Rays and the city of St. Petersburg. Rather, lesser-known general partners in the Rays organization have opened an investment office in Manhattan and want Kalt to run it.”
Never one to shy away from a conversation regarding the Rays future in the region, Tampa Mayor, Bob Buckhorn, went out of his way to call baseball in the Sunshine City a “failed business model” that “Clearly (it) doesn’t work in St. Petersburg,” in the same article. Buckhorn ignored the facts though, favoring a soundbite that would garner him more attention instead. On the contrary, the Tampa Bay Rays have been an excellent business model since Stuart Sternberg assumed ownership of the team. They’ve been outstanding on the field, and are believed to be one of the most profitable teams in baseball. Shadow of the Stadium’s Noah Pransky summed things up well,
Forbes and Bloomberg both guesstimate the Rays make eight-digit profits every year, while the value of the team has at least tripled since 2005. That’s a business model that’s working very, very, very, very well.
If there’s any model that’s broken, it’s the MLB competitive balance model. Unlike other leagues where more revenue is shared, baseball’s profits are distributed disproportionately and are largely dependent on market size and TV reach.
Finally, there’s the piece published Monday by SaintPetersBlog.
St. Pete resident and blogger, Peter Schorsch, ahem…extended pleasantries toward the Rays Monday, writing, “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.” Schorsch maintains the land the Rays currently play on might be better developed without baseball. He also viewed two events as being game changers in the Stadium Saga: The departure of Michael Kalt and, in his words,
…the county tax collector announced that Pinellas had collected $30 million in tourist development taxes — also called bed taxes — in one calendar year. Accomplishing this means Pinellas will soon be designated a ”high tourism impact” county and allowed to charge — and collect — more tourist development taxes. Boosting the tourist tax to 6 percent could raise another $6 million a year for the county.
But Schorsch, unintentionally, made a case for a new facility on the west side of the bay. In his piece, Schorsch hinted at the redevelopment of downtown St. Petersburg — something Buckhorn promised a new stadium would drive in Tampa. I’d imagine it would be highly desirable to build in an already developed area, one that promises more sustainable development. He also highlighted that the increased revenue*, and the potential of more corporate dollars to come into downtown St. Petersburg, comes ahead of the November referendum on Green Light Pinellas. Sternberg called mass-transit “real difference-maker,” and acknowledged it is, “A foregone conclusion: wherever we end up (with a new stadium)…there will be a stop there.” Pinellas is, currently, the only county in the region with plans for an improved mass transit system. It goes without saying, improved mass-transit would connect downtown St. Petersburg effectively with other areas in the county.
*The increased revenue could be used toward the construction of a new stadium.