Quote Originally Posted by PeteU View Post
Usually I don't agree with Paul, but I do in this case. Take away the Suncoast Dome/Tropicana, and Tampa Bay would have been hard pressed to put together a temporary venue for a team.

Realistically, any temporary venue would have to seat at least 25,000, if not more.

Al Lang's bayside location would probably have hampered its ability to serve as a temporary facility. Maybe, maybe Legends Field if they were to put up a lot of temporary outfield seating, but you'd have to pay the Yankees off to leave a facility that was built specifically for them, and with Steinbrenner's ego, that would be virtually impossible. Plus, seeing how close Legends abuts Dale Mabry Highway, I don't even know how realistically that could be done without having to realign the roadway.

Unlike Joe Robbie Stadium, Raymond James Stadium has no retractable seating, and its sidelines are so close in that we would be talking about dimensions worse than the LA Coliseum (probably about 200 feet down the line).

People unjustly discount the lack of a sufficient temporary venue as a reason that a city doesn't have a team. It's why I laugh when people suggest Las Vegas or San Antonio as a
realistic candidate for immediate relocation. Portland turned PGE Park into a soccer only stadium, so it's scratched off as a temporary venue for that city. Other than Montreal, I don't know if there is a North American market with a realisitic available temporary venue that can tide a team over until a new ballpark is built. And I don't know if MLB is willing to go back to Montreal just yet.

On that topic, I don't think the Expos would have moved to DC had DC not had RFK Stadium ready to go to house the team while Nationals Park was built. That's why DC was the only realistic choice to get the Expos when that team's status was in flux.
Well the Rays Franchise was awarded in 95 and took the field in 98 so they probably could have built a stadium in that span of time if the funding was lined up prior to the franchise being awarded. Raymond James was built in less than 2 years (broke ground October 96 opened september 98). Also, the old Tampa stadium didn't get torn down until 99, so they could have carved up space for a baseball field for a year.