Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal appears dead, city delays vote to fund Trop repairs
/The tropicana field stadium as it stands today with a shredded roof and much-needed repairs | st. pete rising
A plan years in the making to build a modern $1.3 billion ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays in the heart of downtown St. Pete may be completely dead.
On Thursday, St. Petersburg City Council voted to delay a vote that would approve two bonds totaling $287.5 million in tax-exempt funding for the new stadium, following suit with the Pinellas County Commission which voted to delay their bond funding for a second time earlier this week.
The county commissioners and city councilmembers were hesitant to grant the bond resolution due to the Rays’ lack of communication.
When the Trop suffered significant damage from Hurricane Milton’s high winds in October, which peeled off the stadium’s fabric roof, the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t speak out about making an effort to find a temporary home within Pinellas County. Instead, they announced they would play their regular 2025 season at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field.
In the recent letter sent to the county commissioners and Mayor Ken Welch, Co-Presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman wrote, “the county’s failure to finalize the bonds last month ended the ability for a 2028 delivery of the ballpark. As we have made clear at every step of this process, a 2029 ballpark delivery would result in significantly higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone.”
Per the executed development agreement between the City of St. Pete and Rays, the baseball team would be responsible for any stadium cost overruns.
A rendering of the planned ballpark with a fixed roof and large glass windows| populous
During the Thursday City Council meeting, Auld apologized for the tone of the letter, but explained the team wanted to be forthcoming about their financial strains and stressed that the bond delay would push back the timeline for the new stadium even further, making a 2028 debut less likely.
He added that with the county’s deferral of the bond resolution, the Rays “couldn’t keep contracts” with partners and had to stop the bleeding as the team has already invested $50 million towards the plans.
With a seemingly bleak future for the Rays in St. Petersburg, the council cast a 5-2 vote to delay the bond resolution vote to January 9, 2025. Councilmembers Brandi Gabbard and Copley Gerdes voted against the delay.
During the same City Council meeting, before Auld announced the Rays' imminent departure from the stadium deal, City Council approved $23 million to replace the shredded fabric roof of Tropicana Field that was peeled off by Hurricane Milton's winds.
However, two hours after casting their decision, the councilmembers rescinded their vote with the majority in favor of revisiting the funding allocation at a later date.
The city councilmembers shared similar sentiments in being uncomfortable opening their checkbooks to fix the Trop without certainty on the Rays’ future.
The city will continue drawing architectural plans; thereby, meeting its legal obligations with the Rays.
According to the city's legal staff, the Rays will need to submit a letter of termination to the city to finalize their decision to bow out of the stadium deal.
An earlier rendering of the envisioned Gas Plant district anhored by the stadium | tampa bay rays/Hines
A voluntary withdrawal of the stadium agreement will cause a default under the Rays/Hines development agreement for developing the 65 acres surrounding the Trop.
As for the future of the deal, Mayor Welch said he would not renegotiate a deal that would “bring back a dime more for the Rays.”
“I do not intend to bring you back anything that has a higher contribution from the city,” Welch said to the councilmembers.
He later issued the following statement: “While we are disappointed that we are pausing the repair of Tropicana Field and the bond issuance that would finance the city’s contribution to a new stadium, we believe there remains a path forward.”
“My administration is prepared to bring a modified plan back to City Council for their consideration. However, I want to make it clear that this plan will not include additional funds from the City.”
“We maintain our position that the Historic Gas Plant District is an equitable economic driver that will benefit future generations. Ultimately, we remain committed to carrying out our contractual obligations and stand ready to work with our partners in the weeks ahead.”
The Tampa Bay Rays’ development partner, Hines, said the following to City Council:
"We remain committed to the Rays and help them through this transition in what's going on in the short term and help get things back to normal," Lane Gardner, senior managing director with Hines, said to councilmembers.
"It's really our hope and desire, although with the Rays uncertainty, that we can work with the city and the Rays to help see whatever the future is for the historic Gas Plant. We are open to whatever ideas you have. We've poured our hearts into this and have been working diligently for the last two-and-a-half years up until two weeks ago when uncertainty came with the county," he continued.
Per the previously approved agreement, the $6.5 billion mixed-use Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment was designed to feature 5,400 residential units, 750 hotel rooms, 1.4 million square feet of Class A office and medical space, and 750,000 square feet of retail space, among other amenities. The redevelopment aimed to revitalize the area, offering a blend of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
Stay tuned to St. Pete Rising as more details on the future of the Gas Plant District and Tampa Bay Rays are shared.
