Rays will keep land by not ending stadium deal

The Tampa Bay Rays will not terminate plans to build a new stadium in downtown St. Petersburg, likely ensuring the team retains control over a $6.7 billion redevelopment project.

The Rays also agreed that previously approved agreements to build a new $1.37 billion ballpark remain valid in a letter sent Friday evening to Pinellas County Commission Chairperson Kathleen Peters. Peters recently asked the team to honor the long-negotiated deal or issue a formal termination notice by Dec. 1.

Team officials have previously claimed that the current deal is dead due to county delays, associated cost overruns and a loss of revenue caused by Hurricane Milton shredding Tropicana Field’s roof. President Matt Silverman, in bold type, continued to blame a new-look commission for jeopardizing a generational project.

“We would not have gone forward with the project if a future Pinellas County Commission had the ability to revoke the approval we all celebrated in July or to unilaterally delay the project’s completion into 2029,” Silverman emphasized.

“In response to your question regarding the status of the various agreements, they are in effect until a party terminates or outside dates are reached,” he continued. “The Rays have fulfilled its obligations and continue to wait for decisions and actions by the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.”

The stalemate will continue as neither of the three parties wants to pull the plug on a reimagined Historic Gas Plant District. The Rays would lose development rights on 65 acres of prime public real estate surrounding the stadium site by terminating funding agreements.

The team and its development partner, Hines, would keep the discounted public land if the city or county reneges on contracts approved in July – with or without a new ballpark.

Peters issued her Nov. 26 letter asking for clarity four days after Rays President Brian Auld told St. Petersburg City Council members that he “can’t continue to move forward based on what I’ve seen from the county.” City Administrator Rob Gerdes has also asked for a formal termination notice.

Peters responded to the team’s most recent letter in a prepared statement sent Monday morning. She remains hopeful that a now-tenuous 30-year project – anchored by a new stadium – will still come to fruition.

“While publicly the Rays organization has said, ‘The deal is dead,’ their written statement is in contrast,” Peters wrote. “Despite the Rays’ lack of political prowess of late, I’ve always been optimistic about this project because of the great economic impact it could bring to our county.”

A new, $1.37 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark (right) would anchor the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.7 billion redevelopment. Image provided.

The Rays sent their first letter to commissioners Nov. 19, just hours before the board voted on a bond issuance to finance their $312.5 million tourism tax contribution to Tropicana Field’s replacement. The team said the board’s Oct. 29 decision to delay the initial vote negated plans to open a new ballpark for the 2028 season.

Per state law, the county can only use its stadium funding on capital projects that increase visitation. However, officials can use property and sales taxes generated from the megaproject on general fund expenditures, like improving infrastructure.

“To continue to keep taxes low for residents, we need to develop new funding streams,” Peters wrote. “I look forward to continued discussion with my colleagues about how this stadium can do just that while solidifying Pinellas as a diverse tourist destination.”

Peters likely faces an uphill battle. The commission that approved the deal in a 5-2 vote included staunch supporters Janet Long and Charlie Justice.

Incoming Commissioners Vince Nowicki and Chris Scherer have voiced varying levels of opposition to the funding agreement. Commissioners Dave Eggers and Chris Latvala, who voted against the deal in July, remain on the board. Four “no” votes would kill the deal.

Silverman wrote that the Rays have “always made it clear that the viability of the project depended on having certainty about the project’s approval and funding prior to the 2024 November elections.” He added that the team was “willing to advance the project for 2028 delivery knowing that Pinellas County’s final approval would take place before the elections.”

Not only do the Rays lack certainty regarding the new commission’s intentions, but Peters also previously told the Catalyst that the team would lose over $100 million annually by playing at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field instead of the Trop.

“I think that the hurricane affected them financially, significantly, just like it’s affecting the city and the county,” Peters said Nov. 26. “We all need to honor the contract, and then we will figure out the financial stuff later.”

Tropicana Field in Hurricane Milton’s aftermath. Photo by Mark Parker.

Silverman sought to clarify a recent narrative in his response to Peters’ deadline. Commissioner Brian Scott previously said Auld acknowledged storm impacts jeopardized the project in a private call before the county’s initial Oct. 29 delay.

“The conversation concerned the near-term challenges to our business given the damage to Tropicana Field as well as the dynamics related to the location of our home games in 2025,” Silverman wrote. “Brian Auld did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project.”

Silverman noted a county attorney “expected a simple up or down vote” on the bond resolution without “any type of delay.” He said the long-discussed measure was “supposed to be a simple administrative action.”

“When it comes to honoring the spirit of the new ballpark agreements, it is Pinellas County, not the Rays, that falls short,” Silverman wrote.

Commissioners will vote on the bond issuance Dec. 17. The city council will consider allocating $287.5 million for a new stadium and $142 million for surrounding infrastructure no later than Jan. 9.