The Tampa Rays may delay a November referendum for a new $450 million waterfront stadium in downtown St. Petersburg until 2010. The possible announcement could come as early as today.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, the team is "considering a change of direction," said Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch. "I'm just glad from the county's perspective that folks are not talking about forcing a November referendum."

The Rays are planning a 34,000 seat stadium on the current site of Al Lang Field. The Rays have said suggested that redevelopment of Tropicana Field would be used to partially fund the new stadium.

City and county leaders have said prior that the team was moving too quickly on their plans.

"It's fairly obvious this process needs to slow down," said Welch, who spoke with Rays president Matt Silverman this week about delaying a citywide vote on the stadium plan.

See images and more information on the proposed Rays ballpark here.

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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