It looks as if the dying of the Tampa Bay Rays is lastly upon us, with the Metropolis of St. Petersburg requesting the crew formally withdraw from an agreed upon new stadium venture.
How did we get right here?
The efforts of Rays possession to discover a dwelling discipline aside from Tropicana Discipline goes again no less than to 2008, when the crew first proposed constructing on the positioning of Al Lopez Park (now the Rowdies dwelling pitch). The part of DRaysBays articles chronicling these efforts, that are all grouped into a piece known as “Tampa Bay Stadium Saga,” has its first publish in 2010; right here is an early 2011 publish outlining a number of the issues with the Tropicana Discipline web site and teasing some nice locations the crew may transfer to in Tampa.
That is to say: we’ve been at this for some time.
However prior to now, the begins and stops of the Stadium Saga occurred with the tip date of the Tropicana Discipline lease settlement (2027) properly sooner or later. We nonetheless had 15 years to determine this out! Or no less than 10 years to determine this out!
Out of the blue, we now have no time left in any respect.
Right here’s a timeline of simply the newest iteration of the Stadium Saga, which appears to have now hit a (last?) deadlock.
June 25, 2019 — Rays announce they don’t imagine Tampa Bay can maintain a baseball crew, and suggest a “Sister Metropolis” resolution of splitting their dwelling video games with Montreal.
December 4, 2019 — St. Petersburg points memo saying “no” to the Sister Metropolis idea.
February 11, 2020 — Rays announce intention to construct Sister Metropolis stadium in Tampa.
January 27, 2021 — St. Petersburg gathers seven Tropicana Discipline web site redevelopment bids with out the Rays assist. The venture ultimately goes nowhere attributable to crew’s lack of cooperation.
July 28, 2021 — Rays most popular web site in Tampa strikes on with no stadium plan.
January 20, 2022 — Main League Baseball kills the Rays plan to separate their seasons between St. Petersburg and Montreal.
June 29, 2022 — New Mayor Ken Welch broadcasts new Tropicana Discipline redevelopment venture, this time encouraging the Rays to bid.
December 2, 2022 — St. Petersburg receives 4 bids to redevelop Tropicana Discipline’s 86 acres, together with a bid from the Rays that features a full-time baseball stadium.
January 30, 2023 — To the shock of nobody, the Rays win the bid to regulate the redevelopment of all the Tropicana Discipline web site.
September 19, 2023 — The Rays and the Metropolis of St. Petersburg attain a tentative settlement for the 86-acre web site price $6+ billion in growth together with a $1.3 billion stadium (with $750 million in public funding) and promoting the Rays the encompassing land for ~$100 million. Crucially, the settlement requires the Rays group to soak up any value overruns past the general public funding requests.
July 18, 2024 — The St. Petersburg Metropolis Council narrowly approves the Rays bid for the 86-acre web site, together with $287.5 million to be allotted by bonds for the stadium.
July 31, 2024 — The Pinellas County Fee agrees to problem $312.5 million in bonds towards the brand new Rays stadium as properly.
October 9, 2024 — Two weeks after Hurricane Helene ravaged the Florida shoreline, Hurricane Milton successfully destroys Tropicana Discipline, ripping off the roof and damaging the inside.
October 30, 2024 — The Pinellas County Fee surprisingly delays issuance of their bonds, expressing concern concerning the prices of seashore restoration and whether or not the Rays (a supply of tax income that funds bond repayments) would decide to play in Pinellas whereas the Trop is repaired (a requirement of the brand new stadium contract, however not the outdated one).
November 5, 2024 — Elections shake up the Pinellas County Fee (efficient instantly) and St. Petersburg Metropolis Council (efficient January 2025) with new members who oppose funding the brand new Rays stadium.
November 12, 2024 — Consultants decide Tropicana Discipline can’t be repaired till March 2026.
November 14, 2024 — Rays announce they’ve reached a deal to play 2025 in neighboring Hillsborough County, on the Yankees spring coaching advanced in Tampa.
November 16, 2024 — Rays proprietor Stuart Sternberg launched statements to the Tampa Bay Instances, placing the blame on the County’s 30-day delay in approving stadium bonds for “possible killing the brand new stadium deal.”
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November 19, 2024 (morning) — Rays Presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman problem a poorly worded (and poorly acquired) warning letter to the Pinellas County Fee, saying the Rays have “suspended work” on the brand new stadium, and can now incur “larger prices that we’re not in a position to take in alone.”
November 19, 2024 (night) — Pinellas County Fee delays issuing their stadium bonds one other 30 days, citing anger on the Rays conduct.
November 21, 2024 — Rays President Brian Auld convinces the St. Petersburg Metropolis Council to delay repairing Tropicana Discipline (hyperlink), main the Council to delay their stadium bond issuance into 2025. Right here’s a breakdown of this dramatic flip of occasions:
Metropolis Council convenes to contemplate value to restore Tropicana Discipline and approve new stadium bonds
Metropolis Council narrowly votes 4-3 to fund $23m to provoke the restore of Tropicana Discipline’s roof after fierce debate
Council takes a 15-min recess earlier than contemplating approval of the brand new stadium bonds
Through the recess, Auld tells the gathered media that he needs the Council had not authorized fixing Tropicana Discipline
Metropolis Council returns to session, calls Auld ahead to reply questions on the letter he offered to the Pinellas County Fee and his feedback throughout the recess
Rays president clarifies that, from his perspective, there isn’t a stadium deal anymore and that efforts to restore Tropicana Discipline on the crew’s behalf will not be worthwhile
Metropolis Council votes 5-2 to delay bond vote to 2025 to allow them to search a authorized withdrawal letter from the Rays on the brand new stadium deal
Metropolis Council recollects the vote on funding Tropicana Discipline roof restore, putting it down in a unanimous vote of 7-0
There have been no additional statements from the Rays about any new plans.
The “use settlement” governing the Rays lease of Tropicana Discipline has three seasons remaining, and the crew’s launch from that contract is bound to be part of negotiations as the town requests the Rays group terminates the brand new stadium venture.
