ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Rick Kriseman is confident that his tentative deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to allow them to look for a new home outside of St. Petersburg will eventually persuade the team to stay.
And with City Council chairwoman Amy Foster, a key swing vote, announcing Friday that she supports the deal, council approval next week seems certain.
But if the Rays aren’t swayed by the prospect of taking half of up to a $1 billion in projected development revenue, Kriseman said the city, especially its southern neighborhoods, will benefit from ending a nearly decade-long stalemate with the Rays.