Charlotte County, Fla.-The Tampa Bay Rays major league baseball team backed off on an attempt to rename its spring training ballpark Mosaic Field at Charlotte Sports Park (GM Feb. 8, p. 13) after local environmentalists and a county commissioner cried foul. The Rays, who play their regular season games in St. Petersburg, announced the sponsorship deal and the name change in early February. Charlotte County would have received about $1.4 million from the 15-year arrangement. However, the county has spent about $12 million fighting various mining permits sought by Mosaic in recent years, and some in the community were offended by the move. Many, if not most, of the issues the county had with Mosaic have been resolved, but fears of damage to the quantity and quality of the Peace River and its tributaries from mining activity persist. The name change had been presented to the county commission for approval, but the team and the company asked to have it postponed from the agenda, and then pulled the request last week. A Rays spokesman said the Rays and Mosaic did not want to distract the team and the fans from baseball. However, the company will remain a sponsor for the team at the Charlotte facility and has its name on the dugout roof.
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