Let’s pretend for just a split second that Major League Baseball is sick of Tropicana Field and the crappy situation the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves in. Just for a second, let’s pretend. Now, we all know the story: lease is due in a million years, millions are owed to St. Petersburg for a property that all of Florida knows isn’t worth the price-----not even close.
What if MLB helps pick up the tab? What if each team (including the Rays) fork over 5 million? Just 5 million. I mean, it’s a lot in normal people terms, but in sports franchises terms that’s pocket change. Major League Baseball is worth 36 billion, with half of its franchises now worth over a billion remarkably. So much for “baseball is dead” eh? Even the Tampa Bay Rays, in the lower end of the spectrum is worth at least $500 million because of high television ratings and good merchandise sales. MLB can generate around $150 million in a span of a month and be able to immediately rid Tampa off of the Tropicana Field shackles.
Alright, I know there has to be more legal ramifications around the Tropicana Field deal. But money talks and $150 million to St. Petersburg would be a very loud “LET THEM FIND ANOTHER PLACE TO PLAY.” This money would more than cover the remaining costs of the giant refrigerator that has ranked last in MLB attendance in the past several years (even losing out to the Miami Marlins, which is located in a sexy city with tons of other options and with a terrible owner to boot). This is a way to see what the city politicians really feel about the team: do they really care about the team, or just care about getting covered for the building? Would they miss the Rays at all? Or is this just a city pulling money in an obviously-crappy situation?
Deal talks have died and stalled for years, with the city just flat-out refusing the Rays even a chance to look around. One of the bigger subtle stories is the meteoric rise of Montreal Baseball and how the Rays changing uniforms would be absolutely perfect for the league---even if expansion should be the true blue solution. The Montreal RayExpos would be lodged in the American League East with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. MLB is not stupid, they can see the oodles of money signs, even if it would mean breaking the hearts of people in Central Florida (which clearly have no indication of feeling a connection with the South Beach vibe and teams located within its confides). But this isn’t about Montreal, this is about how baseball can pick up the tab (excruciating left field idea, just letting you all know) to remove one of the few remaining scabs in an otherwise very successful league going through a subtle quality renaissance.
Of course, with all the money around, this is indeed very do-able. The issue is whether or not other teams are willing to participate in something that doesn’t affect them (that is, except for the few games they are stuck in Tampa Bay). You can waive the revenue sharing, but then the lower-tier teams would complain about not getting the extra dough. You can waive the luxury tax, but this would only affect the heavy spenders like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, and Yankees. You can waive the International Player tax usually imposed on the teams, but that would also create an issue as teams like the ones I mentioned would benefit the most. They could be reimbursed in intervals for the next decade after the new stadium is found/built/celebrated, but I doubt the Rays would enjoy the concept of slowly paying back 29 teams for a generation.
The only way this would work is if all teams collectively agree that the $5 million spent on the Rays is justified and would improve the league overall. Unfortunately, I don’t see happening in a long shot, but the point of this article is to point out that it is mathematically viable to solve the awful issue that has been plaguing Florida baseball for the past decade. If pockets would open, then we would be one step closer to making the league an overall happier place.
Now, about that Athletics stadium issue…………………..
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