Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Here are my ten thoughts/predictions for 2015



1. The St. Pete Pier Project will go well and citizen participation in the on line survey will surpass all expectations.

2. The final Pier selection will be the Citizen's choice.

3. Tampa will not be able to find a suitable site for a baseball stadium nor the money to finance it. Buckhorn will throw the ball back to Kriseman and hold him responsible for keeping baseball in the Bay area. Kriseman will punt. Never did really understand the game.

4. Unless it's a fire sale, Stu Sternberg will not sell the Rays for one simple reason: there will be no buyer. Sternberg's hard nosed dealings with the City, all that weaseling to get out of the use agreement, and Major League Baseball's attitude toward the franchise will be enough to turn off all but the most ego maniacal maniac buyer. Even baseball will take a walk.

5. The Rays will have a less than stellar 2015 season and attendance will continue to sink. Beer and hot dog prices are likely to rise. Mortgages will be available to those wishing to purchase season tickets.

6. The Rowdies will have a great year ultimately making the play offs. Attendance will be up, way up. The games will be exiting, fun and reasonably priced. Home games will grow into a significant downtown event.

7. The City will open the MSB parking garage for Rowdies home games parking and donate the proceeds to the Arts Community. The Edwards Group will staff the garage. Much better idea than the beer cup thing.

8. There will be at least one Rowdies home game where attendance will exceed the Rays lowest home attendance.

9. Mayor Kriseman will finally rediscover his campaign promise to the west side and actually do something beyond 16th street.

10. The Mayor and City Council will stop just taking credit for being an arts destination and build permanent arts funding with a 1 million dollar line item in the 2015 budget.

Happy New Year.... E-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net. Or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Twitter@DOCONTHEBAY. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook and Twitter. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos

1 comment:

  1. St Pete won't do anything at all to the pier unless it burns down. And then they'll just turn it into another decrepit fishing pier. If you let senile old farts decide your future, you won't get one.

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