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Rays launching website to involve fans in ballpark design

Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

For a fan base that's yearned for a real ballpark its entire existence, this may literally be a dream come true.

The Tampa Bay Rays are launching a website to solicit ideas for the new stadium they're currently seeking to build somewhere in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area. All proposals, from conventional must-haves to bizarre, almost impossible additions, will be accepted and considered.

"This is a really big community decision we have to make together and we want people to participate in it, to understand it, and know what we're all getting into," Rays president Brian Auld said Friday at the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon, according to Christopher O'Donnell of the Tampa Bay Times. "Let's hear your craziest, wackiest ideas and let's see if we can make some of them a reality."

Ballparks, of course, are unique and unconventional by nature. Every single one has its on-field quirks - even the Rays' much-loathed Tropicana Field, where catwalks atop the domed stadium's roof often wreak havoc with balls in play.

What the team is trying for here goes beyond strange field dimensions, though. The Rays want their new park to break the mold of conventional sports facilities, and Auld says reaching out to the public via the Internet is one unique way to start that process.

"I don't know of any other team that has done this," Auld explained. "There is going to be something that comes from this that we put into our ballpark and makes it a better place."

Related: Rays approved to explore new stadium sites in Tampa

Given that any ballpark project in the Tampa area will involve some form of public funds, the Rays feel the website is the appropriate way to give citizens a voice in the project from start to finish.

"We're seeking to embark on a public-private partnership here," Auld said. "We will not build a ballpark unless it makes sense both for the Rays and the community. And we feel a great responsibility to make sure that happens. In order to ensure that happens, we can’t be telling people what they need - we need to hear directly from them."

The Rays are still looking for a site to build a new ballpark in the Tampa area. In December, St. Petersburg granted the team permission to search in Hillsborough County. Their lease at Tropicana Field runs until 2027.

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