The Rays have taken the next step in their stadium dance with St. Petersburg elected officials. It was a well-rehearsed move.
"We are committed to making baseball work in the Tampa Bay region. We will do everything we can to make that happen and right now things are moving in a productive and positive direction. We have not spoken to Montreal — or any other city, including Tampa — about relocation at any point," the team said in a statement.
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The statement came out a day after the New York Daily News' Bill Madden reported that Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been exploring the idea of moving the team to Montreal. That report came out just after baseball commissioner Bud Selig repeated his call for a new stadium in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area to replace Tropicana Field. The Rays' stadium lease with the city of St. Petersburg runs through the 2027 season and includes a heavy penalty for even negotiating about leaving.
This latest do-si-do was sparked by the departures of vice president Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon, the men who've received most of the credit for the Rays' on-field success the past seven seasons.
And around and around we go.
