Tampa Bay Rays nix stadium deal

Rays nix stadium deal in St. Pete

Genevieve Curtis reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rays have officially pulled out of a deal to build a new stadium.

On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays posted a message on social media announcing its decision not to move forward with the new stadium.

The team faced a March 31 deadline on whether to proceed with the stadium and redevelopment deal that took years.

What they're saying:

In a statement on X, the Rays wrote, "After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment. A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision. Our commitment to the vitality and success of the Rays organization is unwavering. We continue to focus on finding a ballpark solution that serves the best interest of our region, Major League Baseball, and our organization."

Full briefing: St. Pete mayor on nixed Rays deal

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch reacted to the nixed Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal Thursday afternoon, just hours after the team announced they were pulling out.

The statement added that the city of St. Petersburg is moving forward with plans to restore Tropicana Field for the 2026 season. The stadium was severely damaged during Hurricane Milton, and the Rays will play their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch also released a statement on Thursday, writing in part, "While the decision of Tampa Bay Rays ownership to terminate the agreements for a new stadium and new development is a major disappointment, it is not unexpected. Nor is it the end of the Historic Gas Plant District story."

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued the following statement:

"Disappointed the Rays aren't following through with stadium plans in St Pete. The goal has always been to keep the team in Tampa Bay. The City, Tampa Sports Authority & County are happy to talk with the team again, but any proposal has to make sense for our taxpayers & community."

Battle over new stadium for Rays

The backstory:

Over the past several months, it appeared a new ballpark would finally be built for the Rays after many years of discussions and rumors.

The planned 30,000-seat domed stadium was set to be a major component of St. Pete's redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District.

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File: Rendering of Rays new stadium, that has now been nixed.

The City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved a total of about $600 million in public funds, with the Rays on the hook for any cost overruns – a stipulation that came into play late last year when the Rays blamed the county for not securing $312 million in bonds sooner. Team officials said the stadium wouldn't be ready until 2029, a year later than initially planned, which put the project in jeopardy because that delay also translated to increased costs.

PREVIOUS: Tampa Bay Rays suspend new stadium plans, blame county for not securing bond money in October

The Rays faced a March 31 deadline to confirm whether the team would be willing to move forward with the stadium deal, which culminated with Thursday's statement saying the project will not happen.

Will the Rays be sold?

Dig deeper:

Another wrinkle in the saga surrounding the Rays is whether owner Stu Sternberg would be willing to sell the team. Earlier this week, an attorney in Tampa confirmed to FOX 13 that he represents a group of investors interested in buying the Rays.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is also reportedly pressuring Sternberg to sell the franchise.

As of Thursday afternoon, there has been no public response from Sternberg on whether he intends to sell.

Pictured: Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg.

What's next:

Welch held a news conference with other city officials Thursday afternoon, hours after the Rays announcement. He expressed disappointment with the Rays' decision, but said they'd be looking into the best ways to move forward with the Historic Gas Plant District.

"This is not the end of the story," Welch said. "This is not the outcome we wanted, but we are in a good position to move forward for the benefit of our whole community."

Welch also said Sternberg owes the community an apology.

"Absolutely, Absolutely. This was about the future of St. Pete and a transformative economic development project moving forward."

The Rays could never explain their cost overruns to the city.

"I have seen nothing, not even something written on a napkin, to explain their cost overruns, I have seen no evidence of that whatsoever," said Mayor Welch.

Welch said the city’s focus will be on developing the land around Tropicana Field. He said they would be willing to work on a new stadium deal, but that the Rays would need to be under different ownership.

MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred were supportive of the new stadium deal, as well.

"They fully support the plan we put together. They want to stay in Tampa Bay. Where are you going to go — Nashville? We are a good TV market for them; we have public funding and a growing metro. I believe the commissioner is in support of that."

Rays officials react

FOX 13 spoke to Rays Co-President Matthew Silverman by phone Thursday. Silverman would not put a dollar amount on cost overages but told FOX 13 that pushing the project to 2029 delivery meant increased costs related to inflation, insurance and potential tariffs.

He also said the team is not for sale, but he did say they are looking for minority investors.

"We’ve had ongoing conversations about selling parts of the franchise as part of any stadium build," said Silverman.

He insisted the focus is staying in the area.

"The team is Tampa Bay’s team. Any future transaction would involve the team staying in Tampa Bay unless something unexpected happens," said Silverman.

Will there be legal action?

Countless hours of taxpayer-funded effort went into the stadium proposal. FOX 13 asked the mayor if the city would look at legal action. Welch said he wasn’t ruling anything out.

For his part, Welch said he is focused on the redevelopment of the 65 acres surrounding the Trop.

"We were a community before baseball and we will be one after baseball and we still have a shot, if we have an ownership group that agrees with our values, to make that happen. It's obviously not going to happen with this ownership group," he said.

The Rays will play at Tropicana Field until at least 2028 or 2029. Silverman said if a new stadium cannot be realized by 2030, it would be ideal to continue on at the Trop.

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