Tampa Bay Rays stadium: Pinellas commissioners approve funding for county's portion of deal

Pinellas County approves Rays stadium funding

Haley Hinds reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Pinellas County Commission voted 5-2 to approve funding for its portion of the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium deal at a workshop in Clearwater on Tuesday afternoon.

Commissioner Chris Latvala, who voted against the stadium deal, said he voted for the bonds, because he trusts Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. Manfred had several rounds of calls with Pinellas County commissioners and city officials in St. Pete as this vote drew closer.

Latvala is pushing for Stu Sternberg to sell the team, especially after the Rays said several weeks ago they are no longer sure how they can afford to fund their portion of the stadium.

There is hope that now that the county and city are on the same page, given the St. Pete city council approved their own bonds two weeks ago, it would then force the Rays to build in St. Pete, or find investors who can.

Latvala released a statement saying, "While I do not trust the owner of the Rays, I trust Manfred. He is the reason I am voting yes. MLB is aware of several instances where the Rays organization has intentionally tried to sabotage the very deal they agreed to. As a result of this vote, it is my hope that the Rays will finally have an owner that our other wonderful local franchises have. Rays fans deserve our own Vinik, Steinbrenner, Glazer or Middleton, who care more about the fans and community as they do their own bottom line."

It is now on the Rays to fund the stadium, given they have agreed to fund any cost overruns in the deal signed last summer. The Rays have said the delays in the bond votes have forced costs higher and that the ballpark can not be built until 2029, a year later than first expected.

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The team released a statement saying, "It was unsurprising to see the Commissioners acknowledge how important the Tampa Bay Rays and our stadium development agreement are to this community and its citizens. As we have made clear, the County's delay has caused the ballpark's completion to slide into 2029. As a result, the cost of the project has increased significantly, and we cannot absorb this increase alone. When the County and City wish to engage, we remain ready to solve this funding gap together."

In response to that, during a news conference following the vote, county commissioners said that they have given the best possible deal to the team.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch released a statement saying, "We will continue to focus our work on repairs to Tropicana Field to meet our current obligations, and our ongoing discussions with the Rays and other stakeholders to move this project forward."

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The Rays submitted a memo to the county that makes several new items public, as they pushed for this approval Tuesday. They said they have fulfilled the requirements for a $100 million loan from the MLB.

And, it said they have provided evidence that they have spent more than $10 million on the project, which they have previously indicated is more than $50 million. And, it said they have shown at least half the design to city officials.

Last summer, commissioners agreed to a three-way funding deal with the team and the city of St. Pete to redevelop the area around Tropicana Field, adding a new stadium as well as a commercial and residential district.

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To meet their $312.5 million end of the bargain, county commissioners approved the Tax Revenue Supplemental Bond Resolution item on Tuesday’s agenda.

Voting to approve the bonds was previously delayed twice, and there were originally signals today’s potential vote would face the same fate. That ended up not being the case.

In November, ahead of the county’s second attempt at a funding vote, the Rays claimed to not have enough to cover the cost of the stadium as agreed upon over the summer.

The team’s front office said the county, by delaying their first vote shortly after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, caused delays in the project’s timeline. Those delays, the team claims, drove up the overall cost of the project substantially.

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