The current deal to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg might be dead — but developing an alternative plan may still be on life support.
St. Petersburg City Council members Thursday approved funding for the city's portion of a new stadium deal.
The 4-3 vote came two weeks after the council delayed a decision on the bonds.
That came after the Rays said they could not go through with the deal because of cost overruns on a new stadium due to delays from Hurricane Milton.
Council member Brandi Gabbard said a lot of questions about what's next remain.
“We need to move this forward because quite frankly, I think we're calling their bluff by doing so. We we put it out there. We're in, we're a partner in this,” Gabbard said. "Hopefully the county will follow suit and then it'll be up to the Rays to decide. It'll be up to them to go back to their partners, go back and find other funding. And then when they can't perform, it'll be up to them to come back and say they can't.”
READ MORE: Could the Rays end up redeveloping the Tropicana Field site without playing there?
The team says they're willing to work on a plan to come up with alternative funding. But nothing will happen unless Pinellas County commissioners agree to allocate county bed taxes — and the new majority there is opposed to that.
The commission's next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 17.
"Today, I urge the county to next do their part and join us to see this through," said council member Gina Driscoll.
If either the city or county officially backs out of the deal, it could allow the Rays to still develop the Tropicana Field site — without building a stadium.
“What has not changed is our belief that the best path forward and the path that best positions the city for any future decision by the Rays is to move forward with these bond resolutions so that we are prepared to fulfill our obligations as a partner in this development.”St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
Gabbard said there are enough resources to take care of hurricane damage and continue to go forward with a massive redevelopment plan they first approved in July.
“I voted in favor of the agreement. I thought it was a good deal for our city then, for the numerous reasons that we hashed out in committee meetings and negotiations and behind the scenes,” Gabbard said. “I don't think that changes because of a hurricane.”
Mayor Ken Welch has been one of the principal backers of the deal. He had relatives in the Gas Plant District that was bulldozed in the 1980s to build Tropicana Field, and has said the redevelopment plan would be in part a homage to those residents.
He said he met with Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg earlier this week. Welch said there is still a consensus that the original agreement is still valid.
READ MORE: Tampa Bay Rays tell Pinellas County Commission stadium agreements are still in place
“While significant issues do remain with regard to the Rays' stadium obligations, the discussions were productive and our options are becoming clearer,” Welch told council members. “What has not changed is our belief that the best path forward and the path that best positions the city for any future decision by the Rays is to move forward with these bond resolutions so that we are prepared to fulfill our obligations as a partner in this development.”
The vote on the bonds was opposed by council members Richie Floyd, John Muhammad and Lisset Hanewicz.
Hanewicz said the holdups in the deal are due to the Rays not fulfilling their obligation in the original agreement to pay for any cost overruns — regardless of the cause.
“They have asserted that they do not have the financial capacity to execute the terms of the agreement. This is before anything's built, this is from the get go,” Hanewicz said. “They don't have the financial capacity. It would have helped if we would have had financial statements so we can verify this. But we don't, we haven't even got into the building stage.”
She then faulted the Rays for not even showing up to Thursday’s public hearing.
“When partners are communicating via letters such as the ones that we have seen, it's not an indication of a good partnership. When our partners are not here, it's not an indication of a good relationship. There's no commitment to move forward,” Hanewicz said. “There's no clarity as to what will happen with all the agreements between the parties and this is how a 30-year relationship is supposedly beginning.”
City Administrator Rob Gerdes then told her he advised Rays officials not to come to the meeting, because it would not further the effort to conclude the bond deal.
Council chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders said this deal honors the legacy of the people who were forced out of the Gas Plant district.
"There's more to it for me than just baseball," she said. "And my whole concept of this is moving forward, acknowledging what it is, talk about leverage — this is leverage. We're upholding our part of the bargain. This is what we're doing. We said we were going to do this. We're doing it now, what you got?"
It remains unclear whether the city will agree to repair Tropicana Field, which would then be torn down in several years. The building, which is owned by the city, saw its dome torn off by Hurricane Milton.
At its last meeting, the council first voted to pick up its portion of the repair costs — $22 million, but then reversed that after Rays president Brian Auld said he doesn't believe the dome can be fixed in time for the 2026 season.
The team has agreed to play its regular season next year at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, spring home of the rival New York Yankees.
