Developer to Pitch Rays Stadium Idea

A real estate developer in north St. Petersburg, Fla., will present his idea for building the Tampa Bay Rays a new stadium to the City Council on Sept. 28.

The presentation by Darryl LeClair will take place at a hotel in the area where the Major League Baseball stadium could be located, instead of City Hall, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

While specifics such as design, cost and financing have not been released so far, LeClair is expected to suggest building a new stadium in a 432-acre business park called Carillon, home to  the headquarters of Raymond James & Associates Inc.

LeClair controls about 12 acres of vacant land in Carillon, according to the paper. Locating the stadium there would be significantly closer to Tampa than the Rays’ current home at the domed Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg.

LeClair’s proposal surfaced in early August, after the Pinellas and Hillsborough county commissions said they wanted to meet with the team.

St. Petersburg is the largest city in Pinellas, while Tampa is the Hillsborough County seat.

The Rays have talked about wanting a new ballpark for several years, but discussions got sidetracked because of the recession.

Talks resumed about a year ago with area chambers of commerce joining forces to study financing options for the stadium.

The chamber group, reportedly studying only financing and not a location, was led by Jeff Hearn, a senior vice president at Raymond James.

The Rays have insisted that their current ballpark is unsuitably large and fails to draw enough fans to be profitable.

The team has a contract with St. Petersburg through 2027 to play in Tropicana Field, which is still encumbered with about $40 million of outstanding bonds.

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