Pinellas County approves bonds to pay for new Rays stadium

Colleen Wright, Tampa Bay Times on Dec 17, 2024

Published in Baseball

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Pinellas County Commission approved bonds to pay for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium late Tuesday, putting pressure on the team to hold up its end of the deal it signed onto over the summer.

On a board with a new majority of commissioners who are skeptical of the deal’s financial terms, the commission voted 5-2 to take out bonds to pay for a portion of the stadium. The county committed to paying $312.5 million with hotel and short-term rental tax dollars that can only be spent to boost tourism.

Two commissioners who voted no on the deal back in July, Chris Latvala and Dave Eggers, flipped their votes to yes, joining commissioners Kathleen Peters, Brian Scott and Rene Flowers. Both said they were afraid that voting no would mean that Rays owner Stuart Sternberg could keep the right to purchase 65 acres of public land around the proposed stadium without building a ballpark.

Latvala said he met with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred last week, and Manfred is the reason he voted yes.

“I hope our vote today helps set the wheels in motion for a new owner and a new era of the Tampa Bay Rays,” Latvala said.

Newly elected commissioners Chris Scherer and Vince Nowicki voted no.

“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,” Rays president Matt Silverman said. “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.”

The commission’s vote does not mean there is a done deal for a stadium, initially projected to cost $1.3 billion. Rays executives have said they cannot afford increased construction costs that will come with opening a ballpark a year later than scheduled in 2029 due to delays it blames on the commission. The team’s brass has said there is no deal until that funding gap is filled

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