Tampa Bay Rays Blame County for Shortcomings on New Stadium Proposal

The Tampa Bay Rays had hoped plans would be moving forward with a new stadium, and now they've taken the matter back to the Pinellas County commissioners. As FOX 13 reported, in his letter to the commissioners, Rays Co-President Matt Silverman noted that team executives "did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project," adding "when it comes to honoring the spirit of the new ballpark agreements, it is Pinellas County not the Rays that fall short." The Rays claim that Pinellas County dropped the ball on its duties and that delaying the ballpark project would give them costs they couldn't absorb by themselves. They cite lost revenue due to their forced relocation from the storm-damaged Tropicana Field in October. Silverman's letter comes in response to a letter sent by Pinellas County Commission Chair Kathleen Peters that gave the team a Dec. 1 deadline to decide whether they want to move forward with a new stadium build in Pinellas County. In her letter, Peters said the Rays were incorrect in arguing that Pinellas County's failure to finalize bonds in October would force the stadium to be completed after the projected target opening day in 2028. Commissioners attributed the delay in the vote to the impacts from Hurricanes Helene and Milton that ripped through the area in October. Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, however, argues that the Rays stand to profit if the stadium deal doesn't go through. "They want other people to be the reason why the deal's dead, so then they can reap the hundreds of millions of dollars of benefits from the land development deal that they would still be able to keep, whether or not the team ever stays here, whether or not a stadium is ever built," he told FOX 13.