Rays Owner Won't Hesitate to Sell Tropicana Field Naming Rights

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg became the second Major League Baseball team owner in a week to announce that he wouldn't have any qualms about selling his team's stadium naming rights. Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell had also said he would not hesitate to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field, but that announcement has been dwarfed by the controversial bombshell dropped by Sternberg on the Tampa/St. Petersburg metropolitan area Thursday.

"To be honest, I'm not interested in the opinion of the baseball purists on this," Sternberg said. "When I bought this franchise I was not given a discount because of the worldwide name recognition of Tropicana Field. I need to look out for me and my financial investment, not baseball's old boy's club. I understand that the hundreds of Rays fans around the state maybe upset, but I can promise that the revenue earned from a name change will be pumped back into the team so we can continue to develop troubled, young talent that most likely will not pan out."

Sternberg would not comment on possible suitors, but a source close to the situation said a variety of fruit juice companies, including Welch's, Mott's, Juicy Juice and POM, are engaged in an all out bidding war. "This could raise the profile of cran-apple juice throughout the world to a level we never dreamed possible," one Ocean Spray executive said.

A "Save Tropicana" rally was planned in downtown St. Petersburg for Saturday, but was later canceled due to a previously scheduled Hanah Montana concert. Rays fan Doug Kelker, however, vows not to go down without a fight.

"Sure, first it's just the naming rights," Kelker said. "But next they're going to say they need to add more lights so people can see the game or expose the stadium to open air, it's crazy. Have you ever tried to sit outside in Tampa, Florida and enjoy yourself? It's impossible. Plus, you can't just screw with history. I saw Tanyon Sturtze allow 33 home runs and 271 hits here in 2002. And I saw Jonny Gomes get hit by 14 pitches in 2005. I saw all of those things, with my own eyes. And I saw them at a place called Tropicana Field. Please don't take that away from us."