Hillsborough Sets Stadium Discussion Date, Five Days Prior to Pinellas

Tampa Bay Rays fans desperate for developments in the Stadium Saga have some hope on the horizon as the Hillsborough Commission has set a date for a face-to-face with the franchise, Jan. 24.  This will come less than a week before the Pinellas Commission will talk stadium with the Rays on Jan. 29.

Don't read much into the timing of the meetings - seems to just be a scheduling thing.  But you may be able to read into the fact that each commission is working independently to speak to the team.

Right now, we hear phrases like "shots across the Bay" because none of the region's municipalities seem to be in unison on what they all say should be a "region-wide effort."  They certainly aren't working together to save their "regional asset."

We already know residents in Hillsborough don't want to pay for a stadium in Pinellas, and vice versa.  But without regional taxing authority, it will be very very very hard (and potentially unfair) for one county to bear the burden of subsidizing a new stadium.