Buckhorn: "Would Take Three Years to Build a Stadium"

Mayor Bob Buckhorn inched a little further down the Rays-to-Tampa road Wednesday night, telling a forum a new stadium could be built by 2016.

"It would take three years to build a stadium," Buckhorn was quoted by the Tampa Bay Times. "So it would have to be sooner rather than later."

Buckhorn said the Rays/St. Pete relationship would first have to advance to the point where the team committed to leaving the city. And Tampa would have to also secure bonds to finance the stadium.

But since the Rays are locked in their contract until 2027 and there's not enough money in Hillsborough County for a stadium, Buckhorn's talk - unfortunately for Tampa baseball fans - remains just that. Not that the Rays mind...