Language barrier: Rays' split-season plan met with scorn from Quebec taxpayers

The Tampa Bay Rays have gone all in on their “Sister City” idea — a proposal to split the Major League Baseball team’s season between the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and Montreal and play home games in brand-new, open-air stadiums to be built in both cities. The Rays would presumably continue to hold spring training at their facility in Port Charlotte, but it’s unclear what would become of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the United Soccer League team, owned by the Rays, that currently plays its home games at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Pete.

First mooted in the wake of the Rays’ collapsed stadium deal in Ybor City, the split-season plan, though initially greeted with shock, outrage and skepticism, has steadily gained traction — and supporters: In mid-November, both the Tampa Bay Chamber and Ybor City Chamber of Commerce issued statements in favor of the Sister City arrangement.