ST. PETERSBURG — The shadow of the city's tortured history with Tampa Bay Rays baseball hung over a City Council discussion Thursday on whether to allow another professional sports team to occupy a public space.

At issue: The Tampa Bay Rowdies' desire to upgrade Al Lang Stadium to help the team in its quest to gain entry into Major League Soccer, the country's premier league.

Al Lang is city-owned and occupies precious, charter-protected waterfront. Voters will have to approve letting the Rowdies control that venue for up to 25 years, as the team is seeking.

Passage of a referendum would authorize the city to negotiate the details with Bill Edwards, the team's wealthy owner.

It was those terms, and memories of a long fight with the Rays, that led several council members to urge Mayor Rick Kriseman to create another iron-clad contract to keep the Rowdies from leaving if they reach big-time soccer.

"You can keep them from leaving if Charlotte or Cincinnati or Detroit made them an offer they can't refuse. We can force them to stay," said council member Charlie Gerdes, advocating for a "use agreement" over a "lease" because, like the contract reached with the Rays, it makes it harder for a team to leave.

MLS formally announced expansion plans in December. St. Petersburg is vying with nine other cities for two spots to be announced by October, possibly by the summer. The other cities are Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio and San Diego.

On Thursday, Rowdies vice president Lee Cohen said Al Lang gives St. Petersburg a big advantage over other cities because it's a unique waterfront stadium.

"They're all very good markets, but not unique like we are," Cohen said, citing the city's vibrant downtown, large television market and promises from Edwards that the upgrades and franchise fees — about $230 million — will all be paid with private money.

"We feel very strong with our application compared to every other city," Cohen said.

If the council approves an ordinance authorizing the May 2 referendum, the cost will be covered by Edwards. The measure is scheduled to be considered by the council on Feb. 16 and March 2.

If voters approve the negotiations, any agreement would be contingent on the Rowdies getting into the MLS.

Throughout the upbeat meeting, though, the Rays' legacy kept popping up. Council member Karl Nurse asked if the team had considered ramping up slowly to its proposed 18,000-seat stadium.

"Any sporting event is more fun when it's full," Nurse said. "We built a baseball stadium that maybe we should have built one-third smaller."

Another old Rays-related wound surfaced: making sure the rest of the country knows what city the Rowdies play in.

"As we move this forward, I'd like to explore somehow working the name of St. Petersburg into the agreement," said council member Ed Montanari.

Earlier in the day at the council's regular meeting, community activist Vince Cocks raised concerns about Edwards' business history. He cited a federal lawsuit, which includes the U.S. Department of Justice as a plaintiff, against Edwards' mortgage investment company, Mortgage Investors Corp.

If the company and Edwards were found liable, that could force his company to pay up to $173 million in penalties. Edwards' attorneys have said the lawsuit is baseless.

But that lawsuit wasn't mentioned during the council's later discussion. Instead, several council members praised the plan as good for the city.

"It's exciting. It's young. It's what the city is all about," Montanari said.

Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727)893-8459. Follow@CharlieFrago.