Rays should tread carefully when making economic arguments in the Montreal proposal

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images A view of the Rays office lobby from the exterior of Tropicana Field.The Rays are exploring a two-stadium, two-city approach, and they want me to keep an open mind. At risk of being labeled unimaginative, I want to talk about stadium economics.

During the “surrealist” press conference at the Dali Museum yesterday, when asked how the team thought that half a baseball season could justify the price of two new stadiums, principal owner Stuart Sternberg sold the idea with a nod to generating economic activity.

“The cost of building a ballpark here is dramatically less, and as far as the 81 games how do we pay for it, we’re focused here today on what we need to…