DeSantis says MLB wants the Rays in Florida, but no state money will go toward a stadium
By Rick Mayer
May 28, 2025 at 1:10 PM EDT
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would only help with infrastructure. He also wouldn't back the Rays playing in Tampa Bay or Orlando, but suggested different ownership could help the team succeed.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said Major League Baseball has told him the Tampa Bay Rays will not be allowed to leave the state, but wherever they call home, no state tax dollars will be used to build a new stadium.
“We are not taking your tax dollars to do any stadiums at the state level. (It’s) just not going to happen,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Apopka.
The governor, who said he last talked to MLB officials a “couple months” ago, said leaving Florida would make “baseball look poorly that they couldn't hack it in really big markets.”
“I think they understand that this is the fastest-growing state,” DeSantis said. “It's the third-largest state in the country. To have a major-league team leave, like, that's not something we want, obviously, but actually (it) is bad for the league.”
At the same time, he was adamant against state involvement in building a ballpark, although he noted that helping with related infrastructure would be appropriate.
"We help with roads and exits and some stuff like that, but that's the proper role of government,” he said. “So, I think we'll be helpful within the confines of what's appropriate for taxpayers to be doing, but it will not involve, at our level, giving money for the construction of a stadium."
DeSantis' comments should encourage the Orlando Dreamers, which claims to have $1.5 billion committed to team ownership and another $1 billion for a stadium. The group said it is not targeting the Rays but is open to getting any team through relocation or expansion.
ALSO READ: Orlando Dreamers co-founder shares organization’s MLB plans – and how the Rays fit in
"If someone buys the team and they want to build a nice new stadium, they can work with whatever local city and county if they want," DeSantis said.
The Rays are contracted to play in St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field ends through the 2028 season. They are temporarily playing at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field this year after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off the Trop last fall. The city is paying for repairs that should be complete in time for the 2026 season.
"Obviously, the Tampa Bay area has had it for a long time, and I've told people, I'm not saying it should be in St. Pete, Tampa, Orlando, or any of that. My job as governor: If I can be helpful to keep it in Florida, then I'm going to do that," DeSantis said.
For years, Rays ownership, led by Stuart Sternberg, has been looking for a modern facility to improve attendance and revenue. The search has included discussions with officials in St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County. Sternberg even flirted with a plan to play half a season in Montreal that was nixed by MLB.
In 2023, the Rays, the city and Pinellas County announced an arduously negotiated agreement to build a $1.3 billion stadium as part of a $6.5 billion redevelopment project.
However, the team pulled out of the deal in March.
That decision appeared to burn a bridge between city officials and Rays ownership, although Mayor Ken Welch recently said he was open to a short-term extension at Tropicana Field while the redevelopment project continued sans a new stadium.
While the Rays said they are not for sale, at least three Tampa-area groups have reportedly expressed an interest in purchasing the team and keeping it in the Bay area.
“You know, I've been being told for years that the Rays were likely to be sold soon, and it hasn't really happened,” DeSantis said. “You know, maybe we're getting closer to that now, but I'm confident that the team's not going to leave Florida.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said several times over the past year that he is committed to making baseball work in the Tampa Bay area. He wants Sternberg to develop a "go-forward plan" to get a stadium built in the region.
DeSantis, while admitting “I don't know what's going to happen,” conveyed that different ownership could improve the Rays’ long-term future in Central Florida.
“Now, the Rays do need a new stadium. I think everybody understands that. I know that the current owner basically does not have a path forward in Pinellas County. I think the goal would be, if there's a new owner, to then have an ability to do a stadium in a place that would be economically viable,” he said. “And I think you can do it. I absolutely think it can work.”
He illustrated that potential with the recent success of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning and Broward County-based Florida Panthers.
“You know, we've now become the hockey capital of the world in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “I mean, it's incredible.”
The Lightning, who have sold out more than 400 consecutive home games at Tampa’s Amalie Arena, reached the Stanley Cup final in 2020, 2021 and 2022, winning the championship the first two times.
The Panthers are trying to match that success, reaching the final in 2023, winning the Cup in 2024 and advancing to championship round again on Wednesday night.
“What's happened is, as someone that grew up in the Tampa Bay area, there were probably 10 times more baseball fans than hockey fans when I was a kid,” DeSantis said, “And yet those (Lightning) hockey games do very well because, one, I think they had an owner that leaned in and really wanted to make this part of the community. Two, it was in an area where there's other things to do, so it was kind of like the place to be, and people would want to go, even if they weren't huge hockey fans. People liked it.”
“We are not taking your tax dollars to do any stadiums at the state level. (It’s) just not going to happen,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Apopka.
The governor, who said he last talked to MLB officials a “couple months” ago, said leaving Florida would make “baseball look poorly that they couldn't hack it in really big markets.”
“I think they understand that this is the fastest-growing state,” DeSantis said. “It's the third-largest state in the country. To have a major-league team leave, like, that's not something we want, obviously, but actually (it) is bad for the league.”
At the same time, he was adamant against state involvement in building a ballpark, although he noted that helping with related infrastructure would be appropriate.
"We help with roads and exits and some stuff like that, but that's the proper role of government,” he said. “So, I think we'll be helpful within the confines of what's appropriate for taxpayers to be doing, but it will not involve, at our level, giving money for the construction of a stadium."
DeSantis' comments should encourage the Orlando Dreamers, which claims to have $1.5 billion committed to team ownership and another $1 billion for a stadium. The group said it is not targeting the Rays but is open to getting any team through relocation or expansion.
ALSO READ: Orlando Dreamers co-founder shares organization’s MLB plans – and how the Rays fit in
"If someone buys the team and they want to build a nice new stadium, they can work with whatever local city and county if they want," DeSantis said.
The Rays are contracted to play in St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field ends through the 2028 season. They are temporarily playing at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field this year after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off the Trop last fall. The city is paying for repairs that should be complete in time for the 2026 season.
"Obviously, the Tampa Bay area has had it for a long time, and I've told people, I'm not saying it should be in St. Pete, Tampa, Orlando, or any of that. My job as governor: If I can be helpful to keep it in Florida, then I'm going to do that," DeSantis said.
For years, Rays ownership, led by Stuart Sternberg, has been looking for a modern facility to improve attendance and revenue. The search has included discussions with officials in St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County. Sternberg even flirted with a plan to play half a season in Montreal that was nixed by MLB.
In 2023, the Rays, the city and Pinellas County announced an arduously negotiated agreement to build a $1.3 billion stadium as part of a $6.5 billion redevelopment project.
However, the team pulled out of the deal in March.
That decision appeared to burn a bridge between city officials and Rays ownership, although Mayor Ken Welch recently said he was open to a short-term extension at Tropicana Field while the redevelopment project continued sans a new stadium.
While the Rays said they are not for sale, at least three Tampa-area groups have reportedly expressed an interest in purchasing the team and keeping it in the Bay area.
“You know, I've been being told for years that the Rays were likely to be sold soon, and it hasn't really happened,” DeSantis said. “You know, maybe we're getting closer to that now, but I'm confident that the team's not going to leave Florida.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said several times over the past year that he is committed to making baseball work in the Tampa Bay area. He wants Sternberg to develop a "go-forward plan" to get a stadium built in the region.
DeSantis, while admitting “I don't know what's going to happen,” conveyed that different ownership could improve the Rays’ long-term future in Central Florida.
“Now, the Rays do need a new stadium. I think everybody understands that. I know that the current owner basically does not have a path forward in Pinellas County. I think the goal would be, if there's a new owner, to then have an ability to do a stadium in a place that would be economically viable,” he said. “And I think you can do it. I absolutely think it can work.”
He illustrated that potential with the recent success of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning and Broward County-based Florida Panthers.
“You know, we've now become the hockey capital of the world in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “I mean, it's incredible.”
The Lightning, who have sold out more than 400 consecutive home games at Tampa’s Amalie Arena, reached the Stanley Cup final in 2020, 2021 and 2022, winning the championship the first two times.
The Panthers are trying to match that success, reaching the final in 2023, winning the Cup in 2024 and advancing to championship round again on Wednesday night.
“What's happened is, as someone that grew up in the Tampa Bay area, there were probably 10 times more baseball fans than hockey fans when I was a kid,” DeSantis said, “And yet those (Lightning) hockey games do very well because, one, I think they had an owner that leaned in and really wanted to make this part of the community. Two, it was in an area where there's other things to do, so it was kind of like the place to be, and people would want to go, even if they weren't huge hockey fans. People liked it.”