Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays this week told the St. Petersburg City Council that it will not agree to any deal for a new stadium in the city if the agreement requires the team to change the name of their stadium.
According to CBS, former St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker previously suggested the city stipulate that the Rays swap out Tampa Bay for "St. Petersburg" in exchange for land development rights and an estimated $600 million in public financing for the new ballpark.
"Within the context of this particular issue, there will not be a new ballpark nor a development project if there's a requirement to change our franchise's name."Tampa Bay Rays co-president Brian Auld told the council. "... The name of the team is the Tampa Bay Rays, and it's going to remain the Tampa Bay Rays."
Auld argued that the Tampa Bay name was too ingrained and important to change, adding that the team has tentative plans to wear a "St. Pete" uniform for at least one game, assuming the MLB and companies like Nike would allow it.
"The Lightning and the Buccaneers recognize this, too," Auld said. "It's absolutely vital to what we do. And we want to make sure that this entire project screams inclusive welcomeness to everyone, and Tampa Bay is the best way for us to do that."
The Rays jerseys have not featured the word Tampa Bay since the team was rebranded as the Rays from the Devil Rays.
