Thursday, May 2, 2013
Kansas City Royals Pitcher James Shields has put his home on the market for $1.1 million.
James Shields, the former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher now with the Kansas City Royals, and his wife, Ryane, have put their Clearwater home on the market. He's asking a cool $1.1 million for it, according to the Tampa Bay Times. What will the new owner get, in addition to bragging rights that an All-Star pitcher slept in the Spanish-style manse? The four-bedroom "estate" is located in the gated Renaissance Oaks community, off of McMullen Booth Road. The two-story house has 4,500 square feet of space, a three-car garage and a theater room, with an 80-inch projection screen. Odds are that Shields replayed some Rays games on the mega-screen TV. [Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Shields and the Royals were in …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Raymond, theTampa Bay Rays mascot, helped Clearwater Little League start the 2013 season Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Carpenter Complex near Bright House Field.
Raymond, theTampa Bay Rays mascot, helped Clearwater Little League start the 2013 season Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Carpenter Complex near Bright House Field. The league's opening ceremonies start its 57th season. Phinley, the Clearwater Threshers mascot, also helped with the festivities.
Friday, February 8, 2013
A vote to further explore the possibility of allowing the Tampa Bay Rays to look for a stadium outside St. Petersburg failed Thursday.
A proposal that could have allowed the Tampa Bay Rays organization to look for stadium options outside St. Petersburg if they paid the city an annual exploration fee failed Thursday in a city council meeting. St. Pete council member Charlie Gerdes put forward the proposal to amend the use-agreement in hopes that it could end the stalemate and jumpstart communications between Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and the city. "How do we break the stalemate," Gerdes asked. "In order to have a relationship, we got to be talking. We need a vibrant, engaged relationship where we are thinking about the future. "Not just to have the Rays here until 2027. Not to merely have them live up to the contractual agreement," Gerdes said. "To have the Rays be here…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
St. Pete council members hope to get the ball rolling on the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium search by proposing that the team pay an annual "exploration" fee in exchange for looking at potential sites in Pinellas and Hillsborough.
For the past two weeks, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and the organization have made public presentations to the Hillsborough and Pinellas county commissions pleading their case to look for stadium options beyond Tropicana Field. Following the team's PR presentation calling for a new stadium in Pinellas County, St. Pete City Council Chair Karl Nurse stood in front of the Rays asking them to seek compromise and look at the Carillon/Gateway location first. In September, Darryl LeClair and CityScape made a presentation for the Rays Park at Carillon to be located near the Feather Sound area, just west of the Howard Frankland Bridge. Nurse told Patch that he wants to allow the Rays to look for stadium options outside of the Tropicana …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The Major League Baseball team says it needs a new stadium to be successful in the Bay area. Some St. Petersburg leaders insist they must stay in the city. We want to hear what you think should happen.
It’s no secret that the Tampa Bay Rays have been talking with government officials outside of St. Petersburg about the need for a new stadium. They’ve gone on a road show of sorts, talking with officials on both the Hillsborough and Pinellas county commissions. Team management has made it clear that attendance numbers need to rise for the Rays to remain viable in the Tampa Bay area. They’ve also made it abundantly clear that Major League Baseball has lost its faith in Tampa Bay. While Hillsborough and Pinellas county officials want to lend a hand to restore that faith – and possibly a location for a shiny new stadium in their own backyards – St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster is adamantly opposed to letting the team out of its contract to play at …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Rays ownership met with Pinellas County Commissioners Tuesday to talk about the Rays future in the area. County commissioners agreed that the Rays should be able to look at locations outside St. Petersburg.
Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg stood in front of the Pinellas County Commission Tuesday pleading his team's case to be able to look outside of the city limits of St. Petersburg for a new stadium for the Rays. The Rays, he said, want to be able to follow up on the 2009 ABC Coalition report that explored options in Tampa and Pinellas for a new stadium. "In the simplest of terms, we would like to follow up on the report," Sternberg told commissioners Tuesday. "We might find the best place is where we are right now. (However), I don’t imagine that’s the case." A majority of commissioners expressed agreement with Sternberg's wish. "This really saddens me that we have to have this conversation," said county commissioner Susan Latvala. "…
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
A week after meeting with the Hillsborough County Commission, the Rays organization will meet with Pinellas commissioners at 2 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Last week Rays owner Stuart Sternberg told the Hillsborough County Commission that Major League Baseball no longer views St. Petersburg or the Tampa Bay area as a viable option for the Tampa Bay Rays. Today, Sternberg and the Rays organization will meet with the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners to discuss the future of the Rays in St. Pete, Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay area. The Rays presentation is slated to begin at 2 p.m. to kick off the meeting in Clearwater. If you can't make it to the meeting, you can watch online at pinellascounty.org/tv/default.htm. You can also watch the meeting live on Pinellas County Connection Television, which is channel 622 on Bright House, 18 on Knology and 44 on Verizon. During the Jan. 24 …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Major League Baseball does not believe in the Tampa Bay area, Rays officials said to the Hillsborough County Commission last week. The Rays meet with Pinellas officials Tuesday.
Since he was sworn into office, Mayor Bill Foster has maintained that the Tampa Bay Rays can only explore building a new stadium inside the city limits of St. Petersburg because the Rays' lease does not end at Tropicana Field until 2027. For three-plus years, Foster has tried to convince Rays owner Stuart Sternberg that St. Petersburg is the best option for the future of the Rays. However, after the Rays meeting Thursday with the Hillsborough County Commission, it is clear Foster has another entity to convince — Major League Baseball. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Sternberg said the MLB no longer views the Tampa Bay area as a viable place for a professional baseball team. Sternberg said, according to the Times, that he wants the …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Tampa Bay Rays say they need a new stadium. St. Petersburg officials say the team is contractually obligated to remain at Tropicana Field for another 14 years. What do you think should happen, Tampa Bay?
It’s a brouhaha that’s been brewing in the Tampa Bay area for years: The Tampa Bay Rays say they need a new stadium. The City of St. Petersburg holds a contract that says the Major League Baseball team is obligated to play at Tropicana Field through the year 2027. Even so, the Rays haven’t been quiet about their perceived need for a newer, better stadium. A few years back, they floated the idea of building a new stadium on St. Petersburg’s waterfront. That idea was nixed in the court of public opinion. Now, team officials are planning to meet with both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Commissions. The Hillsborough meeting, which will be open to the public, is set up for Jan. 24. The meeting with Pinellas officials takes place Jan. 29. …
Sunday, October 7, 2012
We want to know if you would be more likely to attend a Tampa Bay Rays game at a proposed location in Carillon Park than Tropicana Field.
A local developer has pitched a plan to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays at St. Petersburg's Carillon Park, in the Feather Sound area. The Ulmerton Road location appears to be a shorter commute for Rays fans who live in Hillsborough County and middle and northern Pinellas County. Old Northeast-Downtown St. Pete Patch reported that Steven Kurcan, project manager with CityScape, says the location of a stadium plays a big factor when it comes to fans attending games. MLB said a stadium has to be within a 30-minute drive of a stadium to be successful, Kurcan explained. The proposal also includes adding retail, restaurants and entertainment (read the details). So, what do you think of the Rays moving north to Carillon Park? Vote in …
Jason Bartolone
11:40 am on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thanks for pointing that out! We've made a correction to the story. more ›