Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tampa Port Authority Tries to Takeover Channelside Bay Plaza

The morass at Downtown Tampa's Channelside Bay Plaza appears to be coming to an end, as the Port of Tampa has come to an agreement to buy the struggling retail center for $5.75 million.

Lightning owner Jeff Vinik appears to be the frontrunner to now buy and rehab the plaza, but Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn - a member of the Port's board of directors - indicated the property will go out for bids since so many tax dollars will be at stake.

But since Buckhorn loves talking baseball, we can also count on lots of Rays-to-Channelside rumors the next few days.
But this news doesn't change much about the Stadium Saga - at least in the short-term. Finding a place for the Rays to play has never been a problem...it's all about finding the money to build a new stadium.

And as for whether Jeff Vinik decides to sell his stake in the Boston Red Sox and get involved in Rays stadium-building or just focus on bolstering Downtown Tampa's entertainment district....is a question for way down the road.

In other news, exhibition baseball is returning to Montreal next spring, giving us hundreds of additional headlines to look forward to next year about how the Rays are candidates to move to Canada.

4 comments:

  1. "as for whether Jeff Vinik decides to sell his stake in the Boston Red Sox and get involved in baseball stadium-building", wow! That's probably the most "progressive" idea I've read on here, congrats Noah!
    As for the Channelside Plaza, I've noticed lately it's become a popular spot on the weekends for those that live @ some of condos along Meridian, and east Tampa. I would assume as more condos are built, the plaza gets a makeover, and more cruise ships are added to Channelsides rotation, the plaza will become what they hoped for...

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    Replies
    1. Just because you agree with something doesn't mean it's "progressive" or even "right"

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    2. "Just because you" comment doesn't mean you know what "progressive" means...

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  2. I'll be very interested to see how Montreal draws for those exhibition games.

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