OLDSMAR — It may be news to residents of Tampa and St. Petersburg, but Oldsmar bills itself as the hub of Tampa Bay.
And that’s why Mayor Doug Bevis is convinced his community of just 14,000 is ready to rub shoulders with the likes of New York and Chicago as a home for major-league baseball.
Bevis and Tampa architect Francisco Semsch made their pitch Thursday to sell Oldsmar as a stadium site for the Tampa Bay Rays, unveiling a plan for offices, hotels, restaurants and, yes, a new ballpark on 120 acres of land just west of Race Track Road.