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Talk of the bay
Airport rivalry heats up over Devil Rays flights
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published October 17, 2005
Some old local rivalries are resurfacing in the wake of a new ownership group taking charge of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
The latest: Why does the team that plays in St. Petersburg fly in and out of Tampa International Airport instead of nearby St. Petersburg-Clearwater International?
"I'd like to see some way for them to use our airport," St. Petersburg City Council member Bill Foster told fellow members of the Pinellas County Tourist Development Council last week.
The idea isn't new. Pinellas County Commissioner Bob Stewart raised the issue in 1998, arguing that the county and St. Petersburg approved the $110-million bond to build Tropicana Field and the community deserved "a slight return on our tremendous investment."
Devil Rays officials insist they're not trying to snub the local airport. They said Delta Air Lines, which has operated the team's charter flights, insisted on flying to bigger Tampa International, where it had ground crews to fuel and load the planes.
The team hasn't contracted with an airline for the upcoming season and will keep an open mind, spokesman Rick Vaughn said. "There are no guarantees, but we may pick a different carrier that gives us some flexibility."
[Last modified October 17, 2005, 08:15:03]
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