Mayoral Candidates Re-Debate Rays Stadium

Several months after we first asked the frontrunners in the St. Petersburg mayor's race for their thoughts on a new Rays stadium, the same candidates were asked to react to the initial findings from the ABC Coalition and - once again - what steps they favor in keeping baseball in Tampa Bay long-term.

We compare the leading candidates to each other and compares how some platforms have changed since May.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110625

Sarasota Will Build It, Orioles Will Come

After a marathon meeting featuring pleas from dozens of passionate residents, Sarasota County Commissioners approved a "memo of understanding" with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

The agreement - signed by the county and team - is essentially a rough draft of a lease. It will bring the Orioles' spring training to Sarasota in 2010 and preserve an 86-year tradition of Major League Baseball in the city.

For more, continue reading here.

Research Says St. Pete Among Worst Options for Rays

The private group commissioned last year to ensure the long-term success of baseball in Tampa Bay suggested Thursday that Downtown St. Pete is not a suitable long-term home for the Rays.

As it continues to release its initial findings, the Stadium Options committee of the ABC Coalition said that it studied five possible trade areas in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, and Tropicana Field's current location near downtown St. Pete was too remote for most baseball fans to get to conveniently.

For more, continue reading here.

Group Releases First Findings on Rays

Nearly a year after it was created, the ABC Coalition - a private advisory board tasked with keeping the Rays in Tampa Bay - began releasing its initial findings on Monday.

Although the findings came with the disclaimer that they were preliminary and completely non-binding (the group has no legislative authority), some of the numbers discussed were staggering.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=109480

Fans Launch Campaign to Move Rays to Tampa

With new reports from stadium-search group "The ABC Coalition" due next week, fans in Hillsborough County are launching a grass-roots effort to land the Rays a new home in Downtown Tampa.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=109345

How the Rays Stadium Saga Will Go Down

A tug-of-war - first between two local communities, then two communities separated by hundreds or thousands of miles. Blogs, petitions, editorials, and maybe even a full-page ad or two. Anger. Heartbreak.

These are all the things we in the Tampa Bay area have to look forward to in the next couple of years as the Rays lobby for a new state-of-the-art baseball stadium.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=108842