Beat the Drum Spread the Word The RAYBOR scam isn't over

As anyone who has been seriously following the Tampa Bay Rays franchise's efforts to move their baseball team to Hillsborough County knows, the intricacies of the negotiations between the Rays and both St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County have been very complex, confusing and uncertain. One thing that is clear though is that these negotiations are far from over. 

I'll start with a video containing excerpts from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) January 9 meeting, which makes it obvious that our County Commission has postured itself to continue negotiations with the Rays to entice them to move the team to Hillsborough County. To avoid claims of  my taking comments of the commissioners out of context, the video of the complete meeting can be found HERE (The motion and discussion begins at 3:28:24).

I'd like to give a shout out to Noah Pransky of WTSP for his relentless pursuit of the truth behind the secret negotiations being held between Ken Hagan and the Tampa Bay Rays, negotiations so secret even fellow commissioners were left in the dark. Thanks to Mr. Pransky, the Ybor activists were able to organize and react to Hagan's attempts to close a deal using $500 million of public funds to build the Rays stadium in the heart of Ybor City. We must stay on our guard though because Hagan, who secretly revealed the Ybor location to influential friends of his before it was made public, has openly stated that negotiations WILL continue under the umbrella of the Tampa Sports Authority (TSA), of which he is a board member and whose activities are even further outside the light of the Sunshine Laws.

So what can happen now? The Tampa Bay Rays, who have a contract with St. Petersburg which terminates in 2027 will most likely go back to the St. Petersburg City Council and present an ultimatum, threatening to sell the Rays team to another owner, as they did in 2010 to begin these negotiations in the first place, the intent being to coerce them into extending their time for negotiations with Hillsborough County. It seems more than a coincidence that the lawyer, Irwin Raij, originally retained by Hillsborough County and now retained by the TSA, is also a consultant for a group in Portland, Oregon who is looking to bring baseball to Portland. There are also those who were given inside information who have most likely invested heavily in properties in Ybor City on the promise of a Rays stadium there. They are not going to be too anxious to give up on the deal.

By the efforts of a good investigative reporter and the dedication of the Ybor activists who faced the BOCC and whose "shot across the bow" made it clear that we would not allow our county to appropriate a half billion dollars of public funds without the word being spread to the citizens of what was being done, we managed to throw a rather big wrench into efforts to scam an unwitting public.

Lastly, for those who really love Ybor City, I want to bring something to your attention. Part of the plan to build the new Rays stadium in Ybor City would most likely rely on revenues from  4 million square feet of new development in the area of the stadium. Using an online mapping tool, I measured the area of land that would be the most obvious location for this new development, bounded between 6th Ave. to Adamo Dr. and Nuccio Pkwy to 22nd St., and found it to be almost exactly 4 million square feet. As Ken Hagan admitted in his interview with Sports Talk Florida, this new development, modeled after the Atlanta Braves deal, which was also conducted secretly, would consist of new restaurants, bars, retail spaces, and high-rise hotels and apartment buildings. It is completely absurd to pretend that this new development would not drastically change, perhaps destroy, the culture and historical value of Ybor City.

In conclusion, I find it mind boggling that so many people, including at least one candidate for Mayor of Tampa, choose to believe the word of those who have the most financial interests at stake when they claim that the "Rays deal is finished" rather than clearly documented evidence that this is far from the truth, It isn't over.

AND WE MUST STAY VIGILANT!