Thrive
Mayor will not pursue Rays deal ‘at any cost’
Mayor Ken Welch has publicly acknowledged that fissures in a partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays may be too wide to mend.
Welch’s relatively brief comments during his State of the City address Tuesday contrasted his typically unwavering confidence in grandiose yet now-tenuous plans for the team and development partner Hines to transform Tropicana Field and its sprawling parking lots into a vibrant mixed-use district.
A new $1.3 billion ballpark would anchor the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.5 billion redevelopment, a 30-year project that would help realize long-deferred promises to the Black community that once called the area home. After the event, Welch said a renegotiated deal with the Rays is likely off the table.
“I think your word means a lot,” Welch said. “It was a painstaking process to get to these agreements – a lot of back and forth, a lot of negotiations. It’s not like we both haven’t spent a lot of time talking about what the right deal would be. To now say, ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I think it would undermine any efforts moving forward.”
The Rays have maintained that hurricane-induced bond authorization delays have caused a sizable construction funding gap. The team will also lose substantial revenue this year by playing at a minor league stadium in Tampa rather than a storm-damaged Trop.
City and Pinellas County officials have stated their unwillingness to increase their combined $600 million commitment to a new ballpark. The Rays will contribute $700 million and must cover all cost overruns.
“I still have tremendous faith in the strength of a deal that was signed barely six months ago after a three-year process,” Welch said. “But the Rays do have the option not to complete their obligations, and I wanted our community to be aware that we’ve contemplated that from the start.
“There are options for us, and I wanted to make sure our community knew that.”
A new, $1.37 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark (right) would anchor the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.7 billion redevelopment. Rendering provided.
Welch told attendees he would not pursue the current deal “at any cost.” He said St. Petersburg’s “greatness and future” does not hinge on the Rays serving as the jewel in a redeveloped Gas Plant’s crown.
The mayoral administration will continue working to bring those plans to fruition until the “final out.” The team has until March 31 to meet several financing requirements, and Welch told the crowd that “we are prepared, and have always been prepared, to adapt, adjust and move forward if the Rays walk away from this partnership.”
Team officials did not attend the State of the City, and a Rays spokesperson declined to comment. Major League Baseball’s owners are meeting in South Florida this week.
City Council Chair Copley Gerdes said Wednesday morning that the agreements could transfer to a new ownership group, provided the Rays meet stipulated requirements. However, he believes St. Petersburg’s “best shot” at moving forward with the franchise is “already on the table.”
Gerdes expressed confidence in the thousands of hours he and his colleagues have spent bringing the deal to the “bottom of the ninth” inning. He said it is up to the Rays to close the game.
City Council Chair Copley Gerdes at the 2025 State of the City address.
Welch noted the city would have three or four years to discern an alternative option if the Rays balk at their end of the bargain. The current use agreement could extend past 2028 if the team cannot play at the Trop for another year.
Gerdes doesn’t believe the mayor’s remarks signaled that the city has already established a “plan B.” He called that disingenuous.
“I don’t think we would do that,” Gerdes added. “I just think we know that St. Pete is going to rise with this deal or without it … our belief is that it rises faster and longer with this deal than without.”
Welch spoke with Rays president Stuart Sternberg last week. He said the positive and frank conversation centered around “trying to get the Rays to move forward on their obligations.”
Welch told State of the City attendees that St. Petersburg remains “closer than this community has ever been” to honoring promises and “charting an amazing path forward” through the Gas Plant’s redevelopment. He also noted the city would retain control of those 86 acres if the Rays failed to meet their obligations.
“The land value will increase, and we’ll have different options,” Welch said after the event. “But it would be a big disappointment if the Rays walked away from this deal.”
Hugh Hazeltine
February 7, 2025at5:15 pm
There are eight other cities in the US where their MLB team is negotiating for a new stadium with the implied threat they will move the team to another city if they don’t get the terms they desire. They have all settled on the idea they want not only a Stadium but also a baseball village built around it from which they can derive revenue.
Sean
February 6, 2025at10:41 pm
How did this guy let the roof go almost a decade past its expiration. I’m sure that’s a violation of their agreement. Hypothetically if sternberg sued them for a contract violation and wins a big settlement are the taxpayers paying for that one? Come on Welch it’s basic knowledge if you own a building it’s your responsibility to maintain it. So taxpayers are either covering the repairs or a settlement. Probably best to repair it ASAP. Probably cheaper than a court battle
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
February 6, 2025at9:06 am
There will be labor issues with 45/47 moving immigrants out of the area and the country.It does not matter to me because the community that suffered the most was not blessed with the original deal .The current deal would create jobs.
Alan DeLisle
February 6, 2025at3:33 am
When does St Pete end the nonsense? The Kriseman plan would be well underway and wouldn’t have been dependent on the Rays. Welch knows how to cancel projects but doesn’t have a clue how to deliver them—-way over his head. Some of us saw this coming and tried desperately to call it out. City Council, except for a few, should be embarrassed for blindly following this irresponsible leadership.
Can you believe that Welch now says he has options. He gave up his options long ago when he gave up all the city’s leverage and negotiated the worst deal in baseball-development history. And the Council, except for a few, and the Chamber blindly followed because of politics and money.
St Pete deserved so much better.
Ryan Todd
February 5, 2025at4:27 pm
We missed the redevelopment opportunity Mayor Kreismann had tee’d up for us. Now Welch has wasted all of our time and resources giving the city away to Stu Sternberg and still can’t get a deal done. The Trop site will languish for years to come – we missed the building cycle by a couple of years; the Rays are already citing projects cost overruns due to labor and material costs.
Let the Rays move to Orlando. I hear there are some “Dreamers” out there who may be more receptive to Welch’s leadership.
adrian
February 5, 2025at4:22 pm
Good riddance to the Rays