The deal to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg may be on life support.
Tuesday's vote by Pinellas County Commissioners to once again delay the purchase of bonds to build a new stadium could be the end of the line.
The bonds are needed to pay the county's share of the $1.3 billion stadium as part of the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment.
The 6-1 vote to delay the decision for another month came just hours after the Rays sent a letter to the county. It said the commission's previous delay had set the construction timetable back, and the team can not afford those higher costs.
Commissioner Rene Flowers was the single no vote.
The commission had voted 6-1 last month to delay a bond vote over concerns where the Rays would play next season after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field.
SEE MORE: New photos show how much damage Milton caused at Tropicana Field
Commission chair Kathleen Peters said it looks like the team is trying to back out of the deal.
“I don't think they play well in the sandbox,” she said. “I think they are not great partners. They're demonstrating that by that letter, and I think they want to take their toys and go back home and start over and renegotiate.”
Commission vice chair Brian Scott — who has previously backed the deal — said it appears the Rays and owner Stuart Sternberg are looking to back out of the deal by blaming two newly elected commissioners who have opposed it.
"At this point you can only conclude one of a couple of things," Scott said. "Either Sternberg wants out of the deal, he wants to renegotiate the deal, and he wants to hang the failure on the county commission, particularly on our newest members."
Those members, Chris Scherer and Vince Nowicki, both had run on platforms opposing the deal.
Peters said her reason for wanting the delay was to allow both new commissioners to study the background of the deal and "talk to the other side" about the importance of the arrangement, which is worth an estimated $6.5 billion over the next 30 years.
But what had looked like a done deal may be done in by the double whammy of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Both storms devastated Pinellas beaches, while Milton ripped the Teflon roof off of Tropicana Field.
Those tourist development — or bed — taxes, which were slated to pay off the construction bonds, could be used to help the beach communities recover.
And Peters said she'd prefer waiting to hear from the federal government about how much help they can expect before committing to spending that money on the redevelopment project.
The letter from the Rays said they could not move forward with the current deal, but they're ready to work on "a new solution" to remain in St. Pete.
The letter said that the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the redevelopment, but they could not afford to bear the financial burden alone of a one-year delay in the construction of the replacement for Tropicana Field.
Under a contract the parties agreed to previously, the Rays would be responsible for all cost overruns caused by a delay.
It's estimated that the cost to replace the Trop's roof would be at least $55 million. The Trop would then be demolished when the new stadium opens.
The team has inked a deal with the New York Yankees to play their 2025 regular season outdoors at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
At least one commissioner, Chris Latvala, has pushed for the Rays to consider using BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater next season.
In their letter, the Rays said they considered Pinellas ballparks for their temporary home, but did not think they could get BayCare in shape by opening day in March.
St. Petersburg city council members are scheduled to vote on their portion of the deal Thursday. It's unclear how this delay will affect their vote.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has been one of the primary forces behind the deal. He issued this statement after the county's vote:
“We appreciate the County Commission’s partnership and today’s discussion of their participation in funding a new Rays stadium. We believe the economic fundamentals, and the long-term benefits of the agreements approved in July by all parties, remain valid.
"We are focused on moving forward with fulfilling our obligations under the existing use agreement. Partnership has always been key to this plan, and the success of the plan going forward largely depends on the commitment of our partners to those agreements. We will continue to work with our partners towards that successful outcome.”
