Response to the ABC Coalition’s Recommendations to Keep and Sustain Major League Baseball in the Tampa Bay Region
February 19, 2010
BuildItDowntownTampa would like to commend the ABC Coalition for setting a region-wide tone and collaborative spirit as it relates to one of the most important public policy matters our region is facing. Regardless of where this stadium is ultimately constructed, it is important that those of us from Sarasota to Brooksville and all points in between engage in constructive conversations about what is best for our team and our region.
We have a once in a generation opportunity to create an iconic structure while securing the future of baseball in our region – an opportunity we will likely not ever see again if our beloved Rays depart. Let’s not miss the opportunity to place this stadium in a location that is not only much more convenient to more people; but a location that has the ability to work in concert with existing neighborhoods, is a catalyst for new neighborhoods, is easily integrated into future mass transit plans, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure and entertainment opportunities. These factors all exist within a safe, comfortable walkable distance in Downtown Tampa. Downtown Tampa is the best option.
With respect to the Gateway and Westshore areas, a new Ray’s Stadium should not simply be plunked amidst a sea of strip malls, surface parking lots and traffic choked six-lane roads. The Florida State Fairgrounds offer nothing except a location at the confluence of freeways. A Fairgrounds site just perpetuates Florida’s out-dated culture of sprawl. In fact, a Fairgrounds location places much of the current problem in reverse. Rather then being inconvenient to most of Hillsborough, this location would be inconvenient to all of Pinellas. Never should a stadium be “out in the middle of no where”, with the “hope” that a baseball atmosphere will be created around an asphalt jungle. One only needs to look at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, MO as a prime example of a sports wasteland.
Although government will be an important partner as this initiative progresses, we believe the Bay Area’s corporate community needs to be the driving force behind a new stadium. In the interest of open discussion, we ask all parties involved to refrain from threats of litigation or other punitive measures. Engage your friends, neighbors and colleagues. Most importantly, enjoy the debate. Go Rays!
Read the ABC Coalition Final Report