Thomas,
You’ve done a great job in extracting key facts from the media coverage on this topic, coverage that has primarily been based on the incomplete and self-serving information provided by the Rays.
The number and scope of the significant unanswered questions on the Ray’s proposal are troubling, particularly if one believes the Ray’s claim that this represents a year and a half of planning.
It is even more disturbing if this deal represents the best that could be negotiated by St. Petersburg city leaders on behalf of their taxpayers in the several months of secret negotiations conducted with the Rays. At a minimum, the city should have used the time to develop its own list of questions on the proposal. If city leaders were doing their job fully by representing city residents and taxpayers, they would have been prepared to get the public’s views on what the future use of the Al Lang field property should be.
