ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays should declare in writing whether they want to pursue an existing financing plan for a new $1.3 billion ballpark or walk away from the deal, a top county official says.
Kathleen Peters, chair of the Pinellas County Commission, said in a letter to top Rays executives that the county needs to know by Sunday “whether you intend to see it come to fruition” before the commission votes Dec. 17 on bonds to raise its share of the ballpark cost.
The letter came after the Rays said the plan was in jeopardy because a planned Oct. 29 vote on the bonds was delayed. The St. Petersburg City Council also delayed a vote on its share of the stadium financing bonds.
A complicating factor is the severe, costly damage done to Tropicana Field’s roof by Hurricane Milton that has made it unusable.
“Pinellas County has operated in good faith, working toward the stadium deal while balancing the needs of our community after back-to-back hurricanes,” Peters wrote. “If the Rays want out of this agreement, it is your right to terminate the partnership. Clear communication about your intentions will be critical to the next steps in this partnership.”
Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, said in a statement Tuesday that the team is not giving up.
“We are eager to work with all partners on a solution for the 2029 season that keeps Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come,” Auld said. “As we always have, we will maintain contact with the city and county as we navigate our future.”
The $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium would be the first piece of a broader downtown renovation project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, named for a predominantly Black community that was moved out for Tropicana Field and a highway spur. It would include hotel, retail and restaurant space, affordable housing, a Black history museum and other development.
Under the stadium deal, the city and county would put up about half the cost, with the Rays covering the rest including any cost overruns. Both governments approved the overall $6.5 billion stadium and renovation project earlier this year but not the bonds to finance the ballpark.
Because of the hurricane damage to the Trop, the Rays inked a deal to play the 2025 season at Tampa’s 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field, spring training home of the New York Yankees. St. Petersburg officials estimate the cost of repairing the Trop at about $55.7 million with a goal of having it ready for the 2026 season — and there are some doubts about that timeline’s feasibility.
Peters, the county commission chair, said in her letter there is still time for the current ballpark deal to move forward with passage of the financing bonds. She said the deadline to offer the bonds is March 31 and that the county does not consider the deal dead.
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
The city and county, Peters added, cannot terminate the agreement unless the new ballpark is not completed by Feb. 1, 2030.
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