Dunedin Looks to Reaffirm Commitment to Toronto Blue Jays

City officials look to pass a resolution urging county and state entities to align with Dunedin in its Major League Baseball retention efforts.

Retaining Major League Baseball in Dunedin isn't just a city issue. It's one state and county leaders should also have on deck, city officials say. That's precisely why Dunedin leaders look to pass a resolution during a Thursday, April 4 commission meeting urging several state and county groups to reaffirm commitment, along with the city, to keeping the Toronto Blue Jays. The resolution comes on the heels of the team's recent public statements that it is using the final four years of its license agreement with Dunedin to look at other spring training locations. Dunedin leaders talked strategy during a March 21 public meeting, sharing pieces of their retention efforts, which includes the possibility of hiring a professional negotiation firm…

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Mathew Eberius, CPRP

6:07 pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Let's keep in mind that not only do the Blue Jays contribute for the spring months, but they also house a minor league affiliate in the stadium from Apr-Sept. That creates events, family days and more to stimulate the area in what would be a dead summer heat.   more ›

Maintaining Major League Baseball in Dunedin: Officials Talk Strategy

A looming December 2017 expiration on Dunedin's license agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays has city officials getting serious about retention efforts.

The Toronto Blue Jays have about four years before deciding the fate of its 35-year relationship with Dunedin. Team officials recently told a Canadian reporter that they were using the time to look at other locations, citing Dunedin's stadium conditions and its three-and-half mile distance from the clubhouse as reasons for leaving. The looming expiration has prompted city officials to develop strategies for keeping the team happy to call Dunedin its home. "There are still approximately four and a half years remaining on the current agreement, and it is advisable to use that time wisely to secure a contract extension," Vince Gizzi, parks and recreation director, wrote in a March 13 memo to Rob DiSpirito, city manager.  They'll be discussing…

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r. murphy

5:40 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Hi Mark, Its April 25th and here we are for 10 days, staying at Innisbrook, spending money at the Black Pearl, Dunedin Brewing Co, the local Barbershop and Leukins.As Canadians, we visit all during the baseball season and many elect to stay, buy property and become tax payers. If the team and the city can't come to an agreement we'll follow them, and their minor league team wherever they go. I …   more ›

Stalemate Continues Between Tampa Bay Rays, St. Pete

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…

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As Rays Explore Stadium Options, Councilors Seek Compromise

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 in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, which is just west of the Howard Frankland Bridge.  Nurse told Patch that he wants to allow the Rays to look for stadium options …

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What's Tampa Bay Saying?

Tampa Bay Rays: Should St. Pete Let Go?

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 …

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Will the Rays Leave St. Pete, Tampa Bay?

The Tampa Bay Rays organization said Major League Baseball does not believe in the Tampa Bay area when it met with the Hillsborough County Commission on Thursday.

St. Petersburg's mayor says the Tampa Bay Rays can only explore building a new stadium in his city because the Rays' lease at Tropicana Field does not end until 2027.  For three-plus years, Bill Foster has tried to convince Rays owner Stuart Sternberg that St. Petersburg is the best option for the Rays future. However, after the Rays meeting Thursday with the Hillsborough County Commission, it is clear Foster has another entity to convince — Major League Baseball.  Sternberg said the MLB no longer views the Tampa Bay area as a viable place for a professional baseball team, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Sternberg said, according to the Times, that he wants the team to remain in the region, but "Major League Baseball at this point no …

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Former MLB All-Star Headed to Dunedin

The Blue Jays have signed Vladimir Guererro to a minor league deal.