What Tampa Bay Can Learn from Milwaukee

Nice short read from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here on how the Brewers used a five-county tax (just 0.1%) to successfully finance Miller Park.

As Stu Sternberg knows, a similar effort could get a new Rays stadium funded, but it's an uphill battle in a region that's got a long history of city-versus-city competition.

Last month, I wrote:

One has to look toward collaborations like Tampa Bay Water and a potential three-county light-rail partnership as evidence that Tampa Bay is coming together as a single region. Previously, it's been city vs. city and county vs. county.

Convincing Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee counties to work together for a regional asset is still the best hope for the Rays. And if I'm Sternberg, I spend my time this offseason figuring a way to make it happen - potentially piggybacking on the effort to get regional rail.

I think a new Rays stadium will still have to go at Toytown or similar Mid-Pinellas site, but that's the least of the problems in the Stadium Saga. Remember, land isn't the problem; funding is.