Tampa Bay Rays want smaller year-round stadium -- without upper deck

Tampa Bay Rays executive Melanie Lenz, right, with her son Ben before the start of the exhibition opener in March. Lenz envisions a next generation ballpark that is more conducive to casual fans.ST. PETERSBURG — As the search for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark enters its sixth month, both sides are refining their deliveries.

The Rays are tweaking a pitch to corporate and civic groups, asking them for ideas for a next-generation ballpark that will lure casual fans and satisfy hard-core aficionados.

Rays executives want a stadium without the shrine mystique of many baseball parks. Instead, they’re exploring ways to draw casual or nonbaseball fans to the park and make money off them all year long…