Hopes Soar in Tampa Bay for NL Team

Three groups from St. Petersburg, Fla., argued their cases before the National League’s expansion committee today and all expressed confidence that the Tampa Bay area will get one of the two new teams that begin play in 1993.

Today was the third and final day for presentations by the 16 groups from 10 cities seeking new franchises. Phoenix was to appear in the afternoon along with a group proposing to play in four different cities.

The National League will narrow the field to a short list by the end of the year and will pick the new teams by Sept. 30, 1991. The franchises cost $95 million each.

Groups from Buffalo, Charlotte, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Sacramento and Washington made presentations to the committee last week.

Tampa car dealer Frank Morsani, Sarasota citrus and real estate investor Thomas L. Hammons and Washington lawyer Stephen W. Porter head the three St. Peterburg groups. All would play in the 42,321-seat Florida Suncoast Dome, opened on March 3.

Baseball officials have discouraged new domes, saying they prefer open-air ballparks with grass fields. But all three groups said domes are essential in Florida because of the humidity and heat.

“We’re in a game today where you can’t afford one rainout because of the salary structure,” said Dodgers announcer and Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, who would become the general manager for Hammons’ group. “It would be taking on financial disaster to try to play major league baseball in the state of Florida without a dome.”

Three Miami groups propose to play in open stadiums, as does an Orlando group.

Morsani, who owns Precision Enterprises and has been trying to get a team for the Tampa area for eight years, announced today that he would call his team the Florida Panthers. Barry Rona, former head of the baseball owners’ Player Relations Committee, is a consultant to Morsani’s group.

Porter was somewhat of a surprise as head of his group, especially since baseball has stressed that it wants local ownership in control of the new teams. Until Friday, that group had been headed by Porter’s cousin, Joel Schur.

Together, the two operate the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Class A Florida State League. The bid is being assisted by Lonn Trost of Shea & Gould, a former lawyer for the New York Yankees.

All three groups said they would stay away from free agents and concentrate on minor league development.

“If that’s a slower way to achieve parity, so be it,” Porter said.