Ladies and gentlemen: the Tampa Bay Rays. For as profitable as MLB franchises are, Tampa Bay continues to bring up the rear in terms of its finances. The 1998 expansion franchise has been largely competitive for the last 15 years or so, but we are getting to the point where relocation may have to be on the table. And now having to rebuild Tropicana Field isn't the least of their financial worries, because it turns out they've also been tied to a Ponzi scheme.
The Rays got caught up in promoting Drive Planning, a limited liability company that was running a Ponzi scheme when it came to selling real estate loans. Back in August, the United States Securities and Exchange commission looked into what Drive Planning was doing and did not like what it saw. The SEC filed a complaint, because the company looks to have been cooking the books over its investments.
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Tampa Bay Rays must return capital it derived from Ponzi scheme partner
In laymen's terms, the 10-percent returns Drive Planning promised to its investors were not possible as a fact of its business model. Instead, that money was going toward funding a lavish lifestyle for its founder and CEO Russell Todd Burkhalter. Drive Planning regularly had signage placed behind home plate during Rays home games, and the team has been ordered to give back the $200,000 it just received as payment.
Local advertising always makes fans of the visiting team a bit intrigued. What is that? Exactly! Once again, we are reminded why the Rays even exist: Late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner wanted a team where he once lived.
Now, as fate would have it, the Rays will be playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field this season in Tampa while Tropicana Field gets rebuilt in the aftermath of a hurricane. This just feels like a joke. Having a stadium with a retractable roof in Florida is paramount during the summer months due to humidity and constant rainfall.
Baseball probably needs to expand to 32 teams and go to an eight-division format like the NFL's North, South, East and West. The Athletics will get to Las Vegas eventually. Southeastern cities like Charlotte or Nashville could support a Major League team. Do we have to consider moving the Rays to Montreal? All I am getting at is this is the type of stuff the cream of the crop never has to deal with.
Franchises die a long time before they technically cease operationsf, so I hope these players do get treated fairly.