Shadow of Stadium

Headlines from Tampa Bay #Rays' campaign for a new stadium since '09 (and other #SportsBiz stuff). Named to Forbes' #SportsMoney50 list.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

No idea why you’d trust me.

I’m just a guy who:
- worked in pro sports
- covered the biz of sports
- exposed corporate fraud
- busted bad politicians
- has no financial interest in a new Rays stadium
- will never get free luxury box tickets to a new stadium.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@MikeBoltz999 Would not recommend “some dude on the internet” who doesn’t have bonafide credentials & many years of receipts online.

Would also not recommend trusting politicians or sports guys whose years of receipts are embarrassing.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

They told you the Rays would leave by 2012 without a new park.

They told you a deal for a new park was happening in Ybor. And that the team would leave if that deal fell through.

They told you the Rays/MLB would never agree to a new stadium in St Pete.

Hold on, there’s more…

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@RPDALY76 Yeah, I’m not disputing that and my post had nothing to do with that.

Re-read and tell me why you keep putting your trust in the politicians and sportstalk dudes who have deceived you so many times.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@RPDALY76 No, it’s the same politicians and sportstalk dudes misleading you. And you still trust them. 🤷‍♂️

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@gdog2323G I’m talking about the politicians and sportstalk hosts who have intentionally mislead you for a decade and a half.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@DingoBaseball @DanTheGOAT90 That’s the fear teams so masterfully tap into, in order to make billions of dollars off the taxpayer.

I’m here to provide the evidence to show those fears are way overblown.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@A_Katzman83 Maury is a good writer. But everyone saw what they wanted in that story.

Somehow, 10 cities all read, “we are in line for a team!”

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@A_Katzman83 They can’t because those things don’t exist 😂

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@DingoBaseball @DanTheGOAT90 Sure. The community has less leverage than it used to.

But that doesn’t mean a small number of loud voices don’t continue to deceive the public.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@A_Katzman83 They are putting themselves ahead of the community (and in many cases, their job duties).

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@A_Katzman83 The Rays don’t have to say it.

They got a commissioner, a governor, and sports talk hosts to say it for them.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@DanTheGOAT90 This is what I said 15 years ago. And critics told me I was wrong 🤷‍♂️

My point is these same people are misleading the public again.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@A_Katzman83 The boy has been crying wolf for 15+ years.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@gdog2323G After 20+ years covering Tampa sports, I feel confident in my understanding of the attendance, population, and revenue challenges the Rays face.

I am not confident a move to Tampa will “fix” those challenges in a way Rays fans assume they will.

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Tampa has never had the money without pillaging essential needs. This is not new👇

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Reminder that while Hillsborough has land too, it's Pinellas w/the funding system for a stadium: http://bit.ly/c5bmlV #Rays #StadiumSaga

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@gdog2323G Well, as a Tampa resident, my focus was always Tampa’s sports business stories 🙃

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@gdog2323G LOL - got it.

So you don’t think the governor should offer his thoughts either?

And you don’t want to hear anything about the Braves’ experiences, right?

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

@gdog2323G How many years should one live in Tampa to be qualified to speak on this issue?

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Tampa has never had the money without pillaging essential needs. This is not new👇

[Shadow of Stadium @StadiumShadow]

Claim: The Battery/Braves subsidies “pay for themselves!”

But to make that fuzzy math work, as @jc_bradbury points out, Cobb has to undercount the subsidies given to the team…and ignore the operational/maintenance costs taxpayers (and not the Braves) absorb on the development.