BIG NEWS about the Tampa Bay Rays

After a 5-3 vote by the Tampa Bay City Council, the Tampa Bay Rays have been granted permission to search for a new stadium for the first time in franchise history. It's about time.

Under the proposal written by the team, the Rays search will be restricted to Tampa Bay and includes a termination clause of the current lease, should a new stadium be found. Additionally, the Rays will be able to leave Tropicana Field as early as the 2018 season, assuming the dome doesn't cave in on itself.

This was a necessary vote for the Rays to make any progress toward remaining in Tampa Bay, otherwise they would probably move to Montreal.

Without permission to search for a new stadium, Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg claimed he would be forced to sell the team due to a lack of economic feasibility, but he needed the City Council's expressed permission to even consider leaving Tropicana Field (or as I like to call it "Tropicrappa Field", as it is an awful stadium)

The lease for Tropicana Field legally prohibits the Rays from considering any stadium locations outside the Tampa Bay city limits. This amendment expands the search area for a new stadium to Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Now that the Rays have permission to consider a new stadium, a search can begin.

Once a new stadium location is found, the Rays can terminate their lease for a cost of $24 million beginning in 2018 -- a sum that decreases each year the team remains at Tropicana Field. The current lease expires after the 2027 season, but the proposal as written is limited to a three-year search window, but the team is unlikely to let that window expire.

Despite strong television ratings (best in the A.L. East other than the Yankees!) and fan support, the Rays currently have the smallest population base within a 30-minute drive of the stadium, and consequently, the lowest attendance figures in the league. It is no secret that the team is most likely to chose a stadium location closer to its population base in the city of Tampa Bay.

Should the Rays move, the city of Tampa Bay would be free to convert the 85-acres of land used by Tropicrappa Field and its parking lots into valuable residential developments, which several members of the City Council saw as a necessary outcome.

By allowing the Rays to vacate Tropicrappa Field early, the city and developers can take advantage of the extremely low interest rates, while receiving a HUGE financial buyout from a team destined to leave the city limits either way. Then again, leaving the city of Tampa Bay is not a foregone conclusion.

The Rays previously considered a new stadium at Al Lang Field on Tampa Bay's waterfront. While such a location may actually lengthen the travel time for most fans to reach the stadium, it was a beautiful design, and may be able to capitalize on recent economic development in Pinellas County.

Also, if the Rays could move their payroll to the $100-110 million range baseball would look much better & have an even playing field (for the most part)

Here is every MLB Team's 2015 Payroll, as the 2016 payrolls haven't been announced yet
1. Los Angeles Dodgers $272,789,040
2. New York Yankees $219,282,196
3. Boston Red Sox $187,407,202
4. Detroit Tigers $173,813,750
5. San Francisco Giants $172,672,111
6. Washington Nationals $164,920,505
7. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim $150,933,083
8. Texas Rangers $142,140,873
9. Philadelphia Phillies $135,827,500
10. Toronto Blue Jays $122,506,600
11. St. Louis Cardinals $120,869,458
12. Seattle Mariners $119,798,060
13. Chicago Cubs $119,006,885
14. Cincinnati Reds $117,197,072
15. Chicago White Sox $115,238,678
16. Kansas City Royals $113,618,650
17. Baltimore Orioles $110,146,097
18. Minnesota Twins $108,945,000
19. Milwaukee Brewers $105,002,536
20. Colorado Rockies $102,006,130
21. New York Mets $101,409,244
22. San Diego Padres $100,675,896
23. Atlanta Braves $97,578,565
24. Arizona Diamondbacks $91,518,833
25. Pittsburgh Pirates $88,278,500
26. Cleveland Indians $86,091,175
27. Oakland A’s $86,086,667
28. Tampa Bay Rays $76,061,707
29. Houston Astros $70,910,100
30. Miami Marlins $68,479,000

Personally, I'd LOVE to see the Rays get a new stadium because then the Yankees would have some extra competition in the free agent market besides the Red Sox & the Dodgers.