https://theathletic.com/news/tampa-bay-r...apxF85tkgd

Quote:Five minority owners of the Tampa Bay Rays are suing majority owner Stuart Sternberg, alleging he has engaged in "a relentless scheme" to "squeeze" them out and take control of the franchise.

The 24-page complaint, which was filed in Florida state court on Saturday, alleges Sternberg has been "secretly negotiating to sell an interest" in the team to Canadian businessman Stephen Bronfman and his Montreal Baseball Group.

Got to hand it to Bronfman, he's already acting like a real MLB owner -- he's asking the Quebec government to help pay for a new Montreal ballpark.

Whether it makes sense to move to Montreal or not, The Rays still have a lease at Tropicana Field that runs through 2027.

Assuming it takes 3 years to build a new stadium and 1 year to plan it, all this talk is still about 3 years too early before they would announce anything, and that assumes they would be willing to play at least 4 years as a lame duck team in Florida.

Maybe St. Pete will cut them some slack and let the Rays buy out out the last 4 years of their lease and they can go play for 4 years in old Olympic stadium in Montreal, assuming the new stadium will be in a different location from the old one.

Return of the Expos?

Honestly, it makes sense. Montreal is a huge market that could function well with competent leadership.

The Canadian billionaire shouldn't expect a grand new palace like you might get in a deluxe American market, and that probably wouldn't work in Montreal anyway with the weather. Nonetheless, they could produce something nice and in keeping with the culture up there.

I'm sure they could arrange to buy out a few years in St. Petersburg. Perhaps something else in exchange like making St. Pete the site of the club's Spring training facility.

(05-24-2021 09:57 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  Return of the Expos?

Honestly, it makes sense. Montreal is a huge market that could function well with competent leadership.

The Canadian billionaire shouldn't expect a grand new palace like you might get in a deluxe American market, and that probably wouldn't work in Montreal anyway with the weather. Nonetheless, they could produce something nice and in keeping with the culture up there.

I'm sure they could arrange to buy out a few years in St. Petersburg. Perhaps something else in exchange like making St. Pete the site of the club's Spring training facility.

I hear St. Pete is not willing to discuss any early lease buy out. The Rays are stuck there till 2027.

Getting out of the St. Petersburg lease doesn't mean waiting 6 years, it probably means waiting at most 2 or 3 years after a new ballpark is built. By the time Bronfman signs an agreement to buy a share of the Rays and then convinces Montreal or Quebec authorities to pay a huge chunk of the ballpark cost, it will probably be the end of next year, or even later. Then figure at least 2 and maybe 3 years after the funding is in place before the new ballpark is open for business.

And they're only going to Montreal if there's a lot of public money on the table. Whether it's the Rays or A's moving, it's a good guess that the owners are expecting well over $500 million from any city or region. (The A's demand to Oakland is for $855 million.)