Charlie Gerdes, a St. Petersburg City Council member, will propose an amendment that would allow the Rays to look into stadium sites outside Pinellas County.

For a price, naturally.

Gerdes is proposing an "exploration fee" of $1.42 million annually, as revealed in THIS story from the Tampa Bay Times.

"I did it as well as it can be done," said Gerdes, an attorney, of what would be amendment to the lease for Tropicana Field.

Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan, a noted proponent for keeping the Rays in the Tampa Bay region, said he was "ecstatic" to hear the proposal.

However some St. Pete Council members were not impressed, including Steve Kornell who staunchly thinks the Rays need to examine Pinellas sites thoroughly before thinking of out-of-county locations.

The proposal is up for discussoion on Thursday's council agenda, reports the Times.