RAYBOR: It's Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

It is the never-ending saga; will The Rays build a new stadium in St. Pete? All of it coming down to a funding dispute between the team and local officials. Now the team has until March 31 to decide if they’re still on board with the current deal that has already been approved. However, there is new reporting on a possible deal in the works and the Tampa group making a play to buy the team and build a stadium in Tampa. We talk to longtime Tampa Bay sports journalist JP Peterson about it all.

Rays officials respond to Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners letter...Is Raybor still an option?

Officials with the Tampa Bay Rays have responded to the Pinellas County Commission Chairwoman Kathleen Peters’ question about whether the team plans to move forward with the stadium deal.....MORE

The deal for a new Rays stadium is on life support. Could a preserver come from across the bay?

In less than a month, what was thought to be a done deal for a state-of-the-art ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg is now on life support. Could a life preserver come from across the bay?

You may remember another one knocked down in late 2018, plans for a ~$900 million field on the other side of Tampa Bay. “The location that we were we had identified last couple years is still available in the Ybor City, port area,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said.

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Ken Hagen might be licking his chops....Could the new Ray's stadium end up in Ybor City after all?

Rays stadium deal in jeopardy after team, Pinellas commissioners trade barbs

A deal to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays is now teetering after Pinellas County commissioners once again delayed a vote on funding the plan. 

The Rays sent a letter to the commissioners just before the meeting started, stating that the delays meant the current deal was all but dead.

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The Rays stadium deal is not done

 

This is our last chance to reject the current deal and negotiate a better deal. 

Public money should be spent on projects that benefit the public, like fixing our infrastructure and repairing our communities, not funding stadiums. 

Learn more on the League’s stance on the stadium deal and how it relates to our social justice work here

 

Next week the County Commissioners and City Council will vote to add $700 million (City) and $500 million (County) in public debt to pay for a baseball stadium. The City of St. Petersburg has a $5 billion plan to improve water, wastewater and stormwater so that the impact of future storms and hurricanes is less devastating. Other communities must also repair and replace damaged and outdated systems. In addition, we just learned that the City must spend $50 million to fix the current stadium, which under the current plan will be demolished two years later.

St. Pete City Council poised to vote on Rays stadium deal

After a final workshop session Tuesday, council members will vote Thursday on a $6.5 billion redevelopment project, which includes a new stadium for the Rays.....MORE

Rays select builder for $1-billion stadium project

The Tampa Bay Rays have picked a company to build their new billion-dollar ballpark. The St. Pete city council still has to approve the project.....MORE

St. Pete city council approves Rays, Gas Plant District deal in preliminary vote

In a preliminary vote on Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to move forward with a state-of-the-art Tampa Bay Rays stadium and redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District.....More HERE

St. Petersburg moves closer to Rays stadium deal

A seven-hour workshop Wednesday seemingly showed that the St. Petersburg City Council has enough votes to advance plans for a new $1.37 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark.....More HERE

St. Pete City Council to cast first votes over proposed Rays stadium

For the first time since the plans were unveiled, St. Petersburg City Council members will have to go on the record Thursday with their opinions on the proposal for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.....More HERE

Local group releases new poll regarding Hines-Rays Stadium and Historic Gas Plant Redevelopment Plan

One group gathered on Thursday, claiming the Hines-Rays stadium deal is not a good deal for tax-payers.  When it comes to the redevelopment of the Rays Stadium and the Historic Gas Plant District, the current plan includes $50 million for what developers are calling intentional equity, including 1,250 affordable housing units, employment opportunities, and reduced rent for minority-owned businesses. Plus, funding for the Woodson African American Museum.  If these goals aren't achieved, Hines-Rays will have to pay the city penalties.

St. Pete residents voice concerns about new Rays stadium deal

Several St. Petersburg residents are voicing concerns about a deal to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and redevelop the 87-acre site that surrounds Tropicana Field.....Read More

Developer Darryl Shaw's vision for Ybor Harbor gets initial approval

The Ybor Harbor development project has received initial approval from Tampa City Council, with a few reservations.

It would be located on the Ybor Channel, a site once proposed for a baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

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Rays’ stadium, development district to exceed initial cost estimates

A report from Florida TaxWatch raised concerns about the real cost of the project to the city and the county, which is estimated to be a total of $2.4 billion, not $600 million, when accounting for parking garages, infrastructure support and lost revenues.....Read More

Opponents of proposed $1.3 billion Rays stadium argue it's 'No Home Run'

The newly-formed "No Home Run" group is pushing back on the proposed public spending for the redevelopment deal, which includes a new baseball stadium.

As talks in St. Petersburg City Council are expected to heat up in the coming weeks, some residents are joining together to push back on the proposed new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and the multi-billion-dollar redevelopment alongside it.

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New Rays stadium deal could end up costing taxpayers more than $1B

The Tampa Bay Rays are here to stay in St. Petersburg, but the new stadium deal might not be a home run for taxpayers — with interest on debt, St. Pete and Pinellas County residents could end up paying more than $1 billion for the development.....MORE

New plans detail finances of Rays stadium deal

Some are already voicing concerns about the new stadium.

“The lie that is being told is that it is more important to build the city’s future around a baseball team rather than around the people,” one community member said.

More HERE

Mayor, residents looking ahead after Rays pass on Ybor City

"I'm very pro-development. I just wasn't pro-stadium," said Ybor City historian Joe Howden. "What the stadium would have represented for us is a huge increase in traffic, a huge increase in problems dealing with the neighborhood."

Both the mayor and Howden tell ABC Action News they're looking forward to the area's future, including the completion of the Gas Worx development, a Brightline station, and the possibility of other professional sports teams coming to town.

More HERE

How St. Pete and Pinellas County will fund plans for new Rays stadium

The city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County will be left with a $600 million price tag as part of a deal to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.....MORE

Tampa Bay Rays Announce Historic Development Agreement, Partnership With St. Petersburg

The Tampa Bay Rays announced today that a historic agreement has been reached with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County to move forward with a new state-of-the-art ballpark and a transformational development by the Hines Historic Gas Plant Partnership on the 86-acre site where the team’s current stadium sits.....MORE