Key decisions on a new Rays stadium are still to come

Florida Matters

The issue of a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays been debated for decades. And in the next few months, make-or-break decisions will be made on the redevelopment plans. This week marks the start of another season of baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays. They’ll face the Toronto Blue Jays in their first home series at Tropicana Field, the stadium that’s nearing the end of its residency in downtown St. Petersburg. A world-class development that will “fuel our economy” for decades to come is how St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch described the multibillion-dollar plan to transform Tropicana Field and the sea of asphalt parking lots surrounding it. "If you look out over the next 10, 15, 20 years, we have so much more confidence that this is going to be a great place for a ballpark, and for a neighborhood that fits that ballpark," said Rays co-president Matt Silverman, who spoke recently on the team's podcast about the redevelopment, "Here to Stay." But it’s not a done deal just yet. The heart of the current debate isn’t so much about sports, it’s about money. Specifically how much the city and Pinellas County and the Rays ownership will invest. Tampa Bay Times reporter Colleen Wright joined Florida Matters to explain the next steps in the long process of building a new stadium for the Rays and redeveloping the land around it. And Ron Diner from No Home Run, a group of Pinellas County residents who oppose the stadium deal, explains why he thinks the deal is wrong for St. Pete