Pinellas County approves bonds to pay for new Rays stadium

CLEARWATER — The Pinellas County Commission approved paying for part of a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium on Tuesday while telling team owners without mincing words that it is now their move.The board said it’s on the team to decide whether it wants to go through with building a $1.3 billion stadium and a massive new residential, entertainment and business district on public land on the edge of downtown.“The onus is on them,” said commission chairperson Kathleen Peters following the vote.Rather than celebrating a 5-2 vote that just a month ago seemed impossible, the team says there’s still no deal. No one from the team attended the meeting, despite the stakes.In a statement after the vote, a team president continued to blame the commission for delays they say will cause the stadium to open a year later than scheduled in 2029, resulting in increased construction costs. According to the deal struck in July, the Rays are on the hook for all cost overruns.“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 after the meeting in a written statement. “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.”Commissioner Brian Scott, a supporter of the deal from the beginning, called the Rays’ statement “laughable.” The team has not said specifically how much more money is needed to build the stadium, though commissioner Chris Latvala said the club has put that cost at $200 million.Latvala early signaled the outcome by saying he would switch from a no vote on the stadium financing to a yes, while calling out Rays owner Stuart Sternberg by name, urging him to sell the team. He said the only reason he voted yes on the deal is because of Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, with whom he spoke last week and said he trusts more than Sternberg in his commitment to keep the Rays in Tampa Bay.“I hope our vote today helps set the wheels in motion for a new owner and a new era of the Tampa Bay Rays,” he said, calling the team’s ownership “penny-pinching” and “double-dealing.”Latvala was joined by earlier deal opponent Dave Eggers, who said he felt the county should honor the commitment it made in July, as should the Rays.Other supporters of the deal also faulted the Rays for blaming the county for rising stadium cost projections and expressed skepticism that construction prices have risen so much in so short a time. Latvala accused the team of trying to kill a deal it had agreed to only months earlier.Commissioner Rene Flowers extolled the redevelopment project’s promised benefits and thanked Latvala for being “steadfast in wanting accountability.”“All eyes will now be watching to assure that the Rays uphold their part of this deal,” she said.The county committed to paying $312.5 million with hotel and short-term rental tax dollars that can only be spent to boost tourism. Some members of the St. Petersburg City Council, which approved bonds for the stadium earlier this month, said they saw their vote as calling the team’s bluff.The bond votes were seen as formalities that would fall along the same voting lines that approved the deal celebrated in July. Then came two back-to-back hurricanes that caused immense damage to Tampa Bay, including shredding the roof of Tropicana Field.The commission first met to vote on the bonds Oct. 29 after the storms, choosing to delay the issue until November to find out more about where the team would play until a new stadium is built or the old one is repaired. Then two new members critical of the public financing terms were elected in November and the board voted to delay the vote again.The commission discussion Thursday began with Latvala asking the St. Petersburg and Pinellas County’s consultant on stadium negotiations if he has ever seen a 30-day delay cause cost overruns totaling $200 million. David Abrams of Inner Circle Sports, who said he’s worked on at least 25 stadium deals, said he had never seen that.County commissioners and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch have said they would not approve any more public money for the deal. Welch’s administration has characterized the team’s assertions as a “perceived” funding gap.“As I’ve stated from the start, this deal could not happen without the impactful partnership of Pinellas County,” Welch said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the Commission’s thoughtful deliberation and support of this transformational project. 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.”The Rays have until March 31 to meet certain benchmarks that would unlock the city’s and county’s funds for construction. Silverman, the Rays president, emailed the commission Monday evening with a checklist that had the team meeting four out of 13 conditions, though he did not send any documentation as proof.The team said it provided evidence that design documents are half complete to the city, and said it would give that information to the county this week. The club also said it has evidence that the Rays can use a $100 million loan from Major League Baseball and that the team had spent $11.6 million through July 31.That figure is much lower than the $50 million the Rays said they spent on the project in a letter to the commission in November. That letter said the Rays’ architects, builders and consultants have stopped all work.Among the things the team hasn’t provided: evidence that it has cash on hand to pay its estimated $700 million share of stadium costs. That should come in the form of a letter of “owner-equity commitment.”Only the Rays currently have the power to back out of the deal with a termination letter. If the team does not fulfill its obligations by the March 31 deadline, the deal automatically terminates.The Rays have announced they will play the 2025 season at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field, spring training home of the New York Yankees. The St. Petersburg City Council agreed earlier this month to spend $1.7 million to initiate work that would lead to the repair of the Trop. Times staff writers Jack Evans, Marc Topkin and Colbi Edmonds contributed to this report.

Pinellas County approves bonds to pay for new Rays stadium

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