John Romano examines the clause in the Rays stadium contract that makes moving near impossible:
Even a private group seeking a new stadium for downtown Tampa has danced delicately around the concept of “tortious interference.”
Which is exactly what the city had in mind in the early 1990s when its attorneys were studying the leases of other Major League teams while drafting this agreement.
The clause, essentially, forbids the Rays from negotiating to play in any stadium other than Tropicana Field before 2027. And any violation would result in “irreparable harm and damages.”
Translation: We’ll sue the jockstrap off ya.
The city of St. Petersburg intentionally left out an attendance out. They wanted a team in town for the long haul. That’s the contract they signed, and they’re sticking to it.
“irreparable harm and damages.” So what does that mean? That they’ll be fine $500 gazillion dollars? Or would it be like, “how much is the franchise worth? We’ll take that plus $1.”
They probably figured if they were going to be extorted for stadium money, they better get some long-term money out of it.