Rays given until Sunday to make stadium decision

The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team has been given until Sunday to inform the Pinellas County Commission whether it wishes to proceed with its plans for a new $1.3bn (£1.03bn/€1.24bn) stadium.

Last week, the project was cast in doubt after Pinellas County Commission further delayed a financing vote on the scheme, with the Rays stating that the planned 2028 delivery of the stadium has been ruled out. Later in the week, the St Petersburg City Council voted to postpone until January 2025 a decision on taking out debt to finance the project.

Pinellas County Commission chairperson Kathleen Peters has now written to the Rays, requesting that the team officially declares its intention for the project. In the letter, which has been published by the Tampa Bay Times, Peters requests that the Rays must indicate whether they intend to move forward with the agreement, or provide a clear notice of termination of the agreement by no later than this Sunday.

It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the Rays, with the team’s current stadium, Tropicana Field, suffering major damage during Hurricane Milton last month. As a result of the damage caused, the Rays will play the 2025 MLB season at the New York Yankees’ spring training home.

The fallout from Milton had already caused Pinellas County Commission to delay a planned October 29 vote on bonds to finance its share of the new stadium scheme due to uncertainty over where the Rays would play the 2025 season. Commissioners last week again voted to delay a decision, with the issue now set to be heard on December 17.

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg last week said the County Commission’s decision to not approve its bonds “sent a clear message” that the team had lost the county as a partner on the project. Sternberg said the future of baseball in Tampa Bay had become “less certain” after the vote.

In July, the Rays had said they looked forward to building the “best neighbourhood ballpark in Major League Baseball” after clearing what appeared to be the final key hurdle for a stadium project that has been 17 years in the making.

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved a partnership with the City of St. Petersburg and the Rays to build the multi-purpose ballpark, which will anchor the city’s wide-ranging $6.5bn Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment project. The future of the project is now in doubt.

Peters’ letter, which was addressed to Rays presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman, states that it has become “imperative” for clarity to be achieved on the status of the project.

Last week, Auld and Silverman issued a letter themselves stating that the team had informed its architects, builders and consultants that its agreement had not been honoured by the county. The letter said the Rays organisation was “saddened and stunned” by the “unfortunate turn of events”.

Auld and Silverman’s letter stated that a 2029 ballpark delivery would result in “significantly higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone”. Peters has described this claim as a “fallacious statement”.

Peters’ letter added: “Pinellas County has operated in good faith, working toward the stadium deal while balancing the needs of our community after back-to-back hurricanes. If the Rays want out of this agreement, it is your right to terminate the contract. Clear communication about your intentions will be critical to the next steps in this partnership.”