December 2, 2007

 

 

By Ted Fleming, Tampa Bay Sports Net

 

ST. PETERSBURG - There are logistical problems. Parking problems. Ecological problems. IRL problems. Government problems. Voter problems. Problem problems.

 

Other than that, the Rays new stadium idea is fabulous.

 

Or is it?

 

Part of the $1 billion project depends not only the sale of the stadium and land where Tropicana Field currently rests to pay off roughly $100 million in bonds, but who will develop it and how.

 

Much is being made about what I call "Bays Ball Stadium" and how much it would mean by adding it to the downtown landscape. It is a beautiful if not breathtaking plan, worthy of waterfront placement - in say, North or South Carolina.

 

Be that as it may, let the Rays and everyone else argue the validity and/or worthiness of the biggest idea ever to he hatched in the fertile minds of those who get paid big bucks for their grandiose thoughts.

 

My concern is what happens to the community that borders the Trop?

 

For years I hammered Vince Naimoli and his merry band of nincompoops because, here was a baseball stadium sitting on the edge of the largest black community in the city and county, black stars filling their roster, yet they never found the time or inclination to market their team to that area? Exactly why was that?

 

Some intimated that it wasn't a big enough demographic to spend bucks on advertising for what would be a marginal return.

 

Truthfully? Head south of the Interstate overpass by the stadium on 16th Street and it was trouble spot both economically and crime wise. That was one of the sins of those who thought that the Florida Suncoast Dome would magically transform a blighted district.

 

It didn't. And still hasn't.

 

Yeah, they did dress up 16th Street South with medians and palm trees but it turned out to be nothing more than a band-aid. Put a tux on a pig and underneath it is still a pig.

 

Now the Rays want to plant a $450 million stadium in the heart of million dollar condominiums and walk away from the people the Trop was supposed to help in reconstruction.

 

The decade Naimoli was in charge was an unmitigated disaster in marketing the team and that was in the entire Tampa Bay region. Now imagine a scenario that could be worse than that.

 

Yes folks, that's 16th Street and south.

 

Part of the potential billion dollar boondoggle is to let someone else pick up the tab for helping out the "Hood" just one mile from where it will be called a "Neighborhood" if this comes to fruition.

 

Some call it progress, I call it abandonment.

 

The idea for the Tropicana Field land is to build a multi-use block full of shopping, real estate for rent and sale, parks, etc. All, fine and well but has there been anything said about the surrounding streets and avenues?

 

Not yet and maybe there is a reason.

 

May I suggest to you that construction has already started on land adjacent to the Trop and it is not tailored for the low income bracket. There are even suggestions the middle income folk could be kept at arm's length too.

 

That is on the north side of 1st Avenue South. Do a 180° turn and the view is grim. At least for those currently living there.

 

St. Petersburg has a number of problems, one being the ever growing number of the homeless. Due to all the cutbacks in the State budget the city cannot keep up with trying to solve the problem.

 

Now, the only sizable black community in the city could become extinct if this plan actually comes to fruition because Mayor Rick Baker is trying everything to get more money flowing into his city's coffers.

 

That means "progress" will bulldoze the poor to make ready for those who can afford to live from east-central to the southern tip.

 

Is this Baker's fault? Of course not. Those dominos started falling with the insurance and property tax issues and to take the burden off homeowners and businesses, something had to be cut. Cities felt the pinch immediately and there will be more to come, sadly.

 

So how does St. Petersburg continue its renaissance while keeping neighborhoods in tact?

 

It can't.

 

I live in this beautiful city and like everyone else I want it all. Low taxes, nice neighborhoods, shopping and of course a standard of living second to none would be nice, thank you.

 

The black community deserves a chance to have that same dream only when you look at the amount of new businesses opening in that part of town compared to any other, it's not even close.

 

As one resident told me, "If this (stadium) goes through, we are through. There are good people here and they want to stay because they have been here for generations but I'm afraid they will not be able to afford to stay."

 

When the Suncoast Dome was built, a neighborhood was leveled in the name of progress. The aforementioned resident saw her mother displaced when that happened. It appears it could happen again.

 

The affluent north is moving south as is those on the south end by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge reaching further north. That creates a squeeze play on those in the middle, a forgotten neighborhood that deserved better.

 

So when you consider just how much a new stadium will cost you, don't think of it in dollars and sense, traffic and pedestrians, heat and humidity, dirt fill and water.

 

Think how much it will cost in human terms.