Rays push back on county ultimatum: Stadium agreement ‘in effect’

In response to an ultimatum from the Pinellas County (Fla.) Commission last week, Tampa Bay Rays ownership said in a letter Monday that its deal to build a new $1.3 billion ballpark is still "in effect."

The letter was the latest salvo in a verbal back-and-forth between the MLB franchise and the county.

Rays presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman wrote to the County Commission on Nov. 19 and suggested the team would not agree to a deal for a new stadium. The Rays claimed they had spent more than $50 million toward building that new stadium, but the county had allegedly "suspended work on the entire project," making its targeted 2028 opening unfeasible.

Last Monday, Pinellas County Court Commission Chairperson Kathleen Peters replied in a letter to Auld and Silverman requesting they declare by Dec. 1 whether they are in or out.

"In response to your question regarding the status of the various agreements, they are in effect until a party terminates or outside dates are reached," Silverman responded Monday, with Dec. 1 now past.

"The Rays have fulfilled its obligations to date and continue to wait for decisions and actions by the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County."

"We would not have gone forward with the project if a future Pinellas County Commission had the ability to revoke the approval we all celebrated in July or to unilaterally delay the project's completion into 2029."

Silverman also fired back at Peters for bringing up a conversation Auld had with Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott last month, prompting the county to allege that Auld was not committed to following through on the project.

"The conversation primarily concerned the near-term challenges to our business given the damage to Tropicana Field as well as the dynamics related to the location of our home games in 2025," Silverman wrote Monday. "Brian Auld did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project."

It is unclear how the county will proceed. The Pinellas County Commission already voted 6-1 last month to put off its final decision on whether to approve bonds until Dec. 17.

Regardless of what happens in the Rays' long-term planning, the club will not play its 2025 home games in St. Petersburg after Tropicana Field was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton in early October. The team will instead welcome opponents to Tampa's George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

--Field Level Media