Read the entire article here on the St. Petersburg Times website.

Trading Trop for trendy

By JOHN ROMANO
Times Sports Columnist
The St. Petersburg Times
Published May 5, 2004

ST. PETERSBURG - You hear the team officials plead, and later threaten. You watch the politicians posture, and eventually maneuver. You read about the battle, now seven years old, for a new baseball stadium in south Florida.

And you wonder, how long before it is our turn?

It's coming. Of that, there is no doubt.

It may not be next year, or even the year after. But it is coming. And it will be sooner rather than later.

The Devil Rays will talk of revenues that are smaller than expected, they will point at real estate development that never happened and they will suggest, in polite but firm ways, that a new stadium must be built.

This is said neither in condemnation, nor recommendation. I merely point it out because it is inevitable. So start getting used to the idea.

Get used to the idea of a retractable roof that covers, instead of confines. Get used to a smaller, more intimate capacity. And you might even want to get used to watching Major League Baseball in Tampa.

The notion probably will be heard first on the cocktail party circuit. Then it will trickle into the local media. Eventually the Rays will admit, yes, they will definitely need a new stadium to remain economically viable.

It will happen because, as a big league ballpark, Tropicana Field is merely functional. It was built on the cheap and it was built just before the era of retro ballparks that celebrated individuality instead of sterility.

It will happen because, as a major league stadium site, the area immediately surrounding Tropicana Field has been a disappointment. It has not drawn hotel chains. It has not drawn many restaurants, bars or shops within walking distance. Mostly, it has not drawn fans.

It will happen because, as franchise owners, the Rays would be foolish to not try floating the concept for response.

Look around. New ballparks have meant economic renewal, and in some cases salvation, for a number of franchises. In the past 15 years, 18 stadiums have been built for major league baseball. Which makes you about four or five times more likely to have seen a stadium opener than a perfect game since 1989.

The rationale has varied from city to city. Some ballparks, such as Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati or Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, were obsolete designs from another era. Others, such as Candlestick Park in San Francisco, were poorly located. A couple teams, such as Houston and Seattle, went from old-fashioned domed stadiums to retractable roofs. As for the Rays, they could use any of those excuses.

Or all of them.

Tropicana Field already is older than more than half of the parks in the majors. Worse yet, its design was virtually antiquated by the time it opened.

Let it be said, there is nothing inherently wrong with the building. It is not falling apart, nor is it without some modern revenue streams.

And you can't blame the Trop for making Tampa Bay one of the poorest-drawing teams in the majors. That has more to do with the wretched product on the field than the stadium's untrendy design.

But, it can easily be argued the park has not helped. It is geographically and demographically challenged. Evening rush hour, you may have noticed, heads in the opposite direction of Tropicana.

The field has no drawing power. No charm, no history. It is a house, but not really a home.

Does this mean taxpayers in the bay area should be obligated to reach into their pockets for the hundreds of millions a new stadium would cost? Heck no. Does it mean the Rays, eventually, will still ask? You betcha.

Despite what you may think, the people in the Rays corporate offices are not stupid. They have to know this will not be an easy sell.

There will be the problem of piggybacking stadium funding into some larger community development tax, much the way the Bucs did with Raymond James. There will be the problem of wiggling out of the last 15-20 years of the Tropicana lease. Finally, there will be the problem of perception.

To get Tampa Bay citizens willing to fight for the team, the Rays have to make the team worth saving. That means they had better be moving up the standings before they try moving out of their clubhouse. And they had better be willing to ante up for a good portion of the stadium's cost.

Their best selling point will be the promise of better days. The roster is young and talented. Soon-to-be minority partner Stuart Sternberg is young and loaded. That combination makes the future brighter than it has ever been.

From there, the Rays could point out a new stadium makes sense for the market, regardless of the eventual zip code. They could point out the success of the Bucs at Raymond James and the Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Rays also could use the enticement of the All-Star Game as a selling point. Which may explain why they have never complained about newer stadiums such as Minute Maid Park or Miller Park jumping ahead of the Trop in line.

You may say such arguments are self-serving.

I would say you're correct.

You may point out tax dollars could be better spent.

I would say you're right.

You might say this is nonsense and there is no way the Rays would consider leaving Tropicana Field and St. Petersburg.

I would say you've been warned.