Rays: Current stadium deal halted, but team is 'ready to work on new solution'

TAMPA, Fla. — Two hours before a crucial vote, the Tampa Bay Rays sent a stern letter to Pinellas County commissioners informing they can no longer move forward with a new stadium deal under the current terms.

However, the letter said the team stands “ready to work on a new solution” in Tampa Bay.

The letter, written by Rays presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman, arrived before the commission met Tuesday for the second time after a delay to vote on bonds that would finance their share of a new $1.3 billion stadium for the Rays in St. Petersburg.

Auld and Silverman said the county’s “failure to finalize” bonds back in October means that the 2028 opening of a new ballpark is impossible. A 2029 debut “would result in significant higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone,” the team presidents wrote. Under the agreed-upon contract, the Rays would be responsible for $700 million for the stadium plus all cost overruns.

St. Petersburg City Council member Richie Floyd warned during negotiations that though the Rays and their development partner Hines were on the hook for cost overruns, if they fall short of funding, “they will have all of the leverage to get funding from us.”

“Yeah even I’m surprised at how quickly I was proven correct here,” Floyd posted Tuesday on X.

Auld and Silverman wrote that their architects, builders and consultants have suspended work on the entire project, which has already cost the team $50 million. That includes work on the proposed $6.5 billion redevelopment of the surrounding acreage into the Historic Gas Plant District.

“While we are focused on preparing for a unique 2025 season, we stand ready to work on a new solution with any and all willing partners to preserve the future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come,” they signed off.

Pinellas County commissioners voted in July to approve $312.5 million in public financing for the stadium using tourist taxes to pay off the debt. The commission voted 6-1 in October to delay votes on issuing bonds due to uncertainty over where the Rays would play the 2025 season after Hurricane Milton tore off the roof at Tropicana Field.

The commissioner who led the charge to delay, Chris Latvala, voted no on the deal back in July. He said the team would be taking tourist tax dollars that would pay for the new stadium out of the county and should instead look at playing at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater as their temporary home.

That decision, made possible by commissioners who were in support of the deal in July when it passed with a 5-2, delayed the bond vote until after the November election. Then, stadium skeptics Vince Nowicki and Chris Scherer were elected and replaced commissioners who were in support of the stadium deal. They could join Latvala and Eggers, the two no votes in July, to make up a new anti-stadium majority.

Some commissioners had indicated they may delay the vote again. They said that it isn’t fair that its two newest members, sworn in Monday night, should make such a consequential decision on their first day on the job. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting is Dec. 17.

Auld and Silverman attended the meeting Tuesday, though they wrote in the letter that they would listen “carefully” but not answer questions. They said they wrote the letter to address some “misunderstandings.”

They wrote that the team determined they could not get BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater into a condition where it could host regular season Major League Baseball games by March’s opening day. On a podcast hosted by former WDAE host Jay Recher, Latvala said the Rays spoke to Clearwater “one time and it was a one-way conversation.”

Auld and Silverman said they have been in “regular communications” with commissioners and County Administrator Barry Burton, including “returning every call and text.” Commissioners, including Rene Flowers and Brian Scott, who voted for the deal in July, have complained about the “radio silence” from the team.

“At no point were we given any indication that the [County Commission] might choose to delay” issuing the bonds in October, calling the vote a formality that needed to be done before the Nov. 5 election in order to meet a deadline to open a ballpark by the start of the 2028 season.

At the October commission meeting, Assistant County Attorney Donald Crowell said both the city and the county have until March 31, 2025, to issue the bonds. Crowell said the county had a few weeks of buffer time and that a vote Nov. 19 would still make the timelines work.

In their letter, Auld and Silverman wrote that the Rays met each of their obligations, including completing half of the design documents and securing its own financing, to move forward. And though they were devastated when Hurricane Milton took the roof off Tropicana Field, they took solace in a “clear, approved path” to have a new ballpark for the 2028 season.

The letter sent to the Pinellas County Commission was also shared with St. Petersburg City Council members, who are scheduled to finalize their own bonds to pay for the stadium and surrounding roads and sewers on Thursday. City Administrator Rob Gerdes was also at Tuesday’s commission meeting.