Nuanced meddling. Wink-and-nod gambit to avoid being sued for tampering. Enlightened self interest. Call it whatever you want, the move by the Tampa Chamber of Commerce to study baseball stadium financing–with eyes toward private funding and regional involvement–is necessary.
The Rays are a regional franchise stuck in an antiquated facility in a demographically-challenged part of a relatively small market with no mass transit and few corporate headquarters. It’s a given that the Rays will leave the Trop before their lease is up is 2027. The only question is will they also leave the area? Absent any involvement, however self-serving, by the Tampa side of the bay, the Rays are much more likely to leave the Tampa Bay market.
A regional asset requires a regional approach. Tampa Chamber president Chuck Sykes obviously gets it. Would that St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster did.