Just a few short months ago, the Tampa Bay Rays appeared to be in striking distance of getting a brand new ballpark in St. Petersburg — next to the Tropicana Field site.
Rays president Matt Silverman, talking during a Rays-Marlins game in August, said the development around the ballpark would be a ‘miniature city’.
“The first phase should open with the ballpark and we're going to create a destination, we're going to create a neighborhood, we're going to create jobs,” said Silverman. “It's a real jolt to the local economy, and that's one of the great things that we can provide as a baseball team, is that injection.”
Not everyone’s happy with St. Pete and Pinellas County chipping in millions of dollars to subsidize the project. But it all seemed to be heading the right way for the Rays.
Then, in October, Hurricane Milton roared into town, tearing the roof off Tropicana Field.
This was no leaking roof: The storm destroyed the stadium's massive fabric top. That led to a cascade of new problems for the talks already 18 years old.
The city council needs to address repairs to the existing stadium. And newly-elected Pinellas County Commissioners who are less friendly to the stadium deal were sworn in. Finally, delays caused by the hurricane are threatening to drive up the cost of the $1.3 billion dollar project.
So, are the hopes of the Rays, their fans — and St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch — for a new stadium in tatters like the roof of the Trop? Colleen Wright who covers St. Pete for the Tampa Bay Times joins Florida Matters to bring you up to speed — and to help explain what the community could expect.
“At that point when the hurricane happened, I had no idea that the chain of events it would set off would be that, because it is kind of like a perfect storm,” said Wright.
The City of St. Petersburg's current agreement with the Rays to play at Tropicana Field goes through 2027. But for every year the team can’t play there, the agreement gets extended, Wright said.
“The conundrum there is that, are you going to put all this money into replacing a roof that should be demolished in a few years for this plan that was approved with cheers and press conferences back in July?”
The decision by Pinellas County commissioners to delay the vote on bonds to help pay for the project further complicates the issue, she said.
“In Pinellas County, how it works is those new commissioners get to join immediately, and then they get to weigh in,” Wright said.
“Repairing the Trop, you know, maybe you can get some more life out of it, but will you even have a team?" she said. "There's so much up in the air right now.”
Pinellas County commissioners will decide whether to approve the county's share to finance the deal. They're meeting today and WUSF news will update you with the latest in this ongoing drama.
Listen to the full conversation with Wright on the media player above.
