savafan
05-31-2006, 02:39 AM
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/05/30/ap2781783.html
Tampa Bay will still be known as the Devil Rays next season. That may change in 2008.
Tampa Bay was facing an end-of-the-month deadline to submit proposals to Major League Baseball for any name, uniform or related changes for 2007. Team president Matthew Silverman on Tuesday said the club will continue its review of the matter instead of filing any requests with MLB.
"There will be a change for the 2008 season," Silverman said. "It could be subtle. It could just be a change to the logo or to the uniforms themselves, but we're going to leave open the possibility for more dramatic changes now that we have the time to investigate it fully."
One option is dropping Devil from the team name.
"To do it before the 2007 season would be premature in order to roll it out properly," Silverman said. "We want to make sure that we did it properly, and that's why we decided to wait."
New York investor Stuart Sternberg became the principal owner last fall of the franchise that has never finished higher than fourth place in the AL East. His ownership group has attempted to reach out to fans, spending $10 million dollars to improve Tropicana Field and offering free parking at home games.
"There's a lot of change taking place within the organization and that change will continue for the next couple of years," Silverman said. "Some changes take longer, and the name change is one of those. We want to make sure we get it right."
Tampa Bay will still be known as the Devil Rays next season. That may change in 2008.
Tampa Bay was facing an end-of-the-month deadline to submit proposals to Major League Baseball for any name, uniform or related changes for 2007. Team president Matthew Silverman on Tuesday said the club will continue its review of the matter instead of filing any requests with MLB.
"There will be a change for the 2008 season," Silverman said. "It could be subtle. It could just be a change to the logo or to the uniforms themselves, but we're going to leave open the possibility for more dramatic changes now that we have the time to investigate it fully."
One option is dropping Devil from the team name.
"To do it before the 2007 season would be premature in order to roll it out properly," Silverman said. "We want to make sure that we did it properly, and that's why we decided to wait."
New York investor Stuart Sternberg became the principal owner last fall of the franchise that has never finished higher than fourth place in the AL East. His ownership group has attempted to reach out to fans, spending $10 million dollars to improve Tropicana Field and offering free parking at home games.
"There's a lot of change taking place within the organization and that change will continue for the next couple of years," Silverman said. "Some changes take longer, and the name change is one of those. We want to make sure we get it right."