Stadium For Rent: Meanwhile, in San Francisco . . .

STADIUM FOR RENT:
Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball
By BOB ANDELMAN

Meanwhile, in San Francisco . . .

Rod Challenger knew something strange was going on.

A source had tipped off the TV reporter a week earlier that a group of Tampa Bay area investors were days away from making a bid on the San Francisco Giants.

Ever since, Challenger had been on the lookout for anything unusual in the comings and goings of the main players. Attending the regular weekly meeting of the St. Petersburg City Council, the WFLA-Channel 8 thought it odd that the city manager, Norm Hickey, was not in attendance. Also missing was assistant city manager Rick Dodge, the city's long-time point man on baseball efforts.

Where were Hickey and Dodge?

"Out of town."

Oh, boy.

After eight years of covering Tampa Bay's quest to attract a Major League Baseball team -- and turning down an endless number of dead ends -- Challenger knew this was it.

He checked the parking lot at city hall; no sign of Hickey's or Dodge's cars. Challenger knew what everybody drove; that's just part of his job. A quick call over to Florida Progress confirmed what he already suspected: Jack Critchfield, Progress' chief executive officer and chairman of the board -- and, more important, the volunteer chairman of the local baseball effort -- was also out of town. Just to be sure, he checked Critchfield's parking space. No car.

Challenger tipped off sportscaster Tom Korun, who made daily calls to his own source. On this particular day, nobody called him back. That never happened before. Korun called again. His source was "out of town."

A few more calls and Challenger learned that Hickey, Dodge, Critchfield and a secret group of investors were in San Francisco making a $115-million offer to Giants owner Bob Lurie to purchase and relocate his team to St. Petersburg's Florida Suncoast Dome. His source also told him not to bother calling any more San Francisco hotels looking for the group; the trip was an "up and back"; tender the offer, sign the papers, get out fast.

Oh, boy.

Someone at WFLA called its NBC affiliated in San Francisco, KRON, and tipped them off. KRON located Florida Progress' corporate jet through a contact at San Francisco International Airport and sent a camera crew to record the St. Petersburg contingent's boarding and take-off.

This, Rod Challenger thought, is news.

Confirmation of the story unfortunately came during prime-time coverage of the Summer Olympics, which could not be interrupted. So back in the studio, WFLA sportscaster Tom Korun could do little more than tease the story on a 10:40 p.m. news break.

When the Olympics were finally over for the night, Korun reported the news Tampa Bay had waited 15 years to hear:

The Giants are coming!

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