ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Will the Tampa Bay Rays remain in St. Petersburg? It depends on who you ask.
What You Need To Know
- Pinellas County commissioner Chris Latvala met Monday with St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch.
- Latvala was a no vote on the stadium deal in July and spoke out last week about the Rays temporary season in Tampa next year. But on X, formerly Twitter, he called the meeting with Welch "productive."
- SEE ALSO: Authorities: Teen arrested, charged with threatening Pinellas commissioner
- BACKGROUND: Previous stories on the Rays stadium search
Currently groundbreaking on a new stadium is paused, due to delays on a county commission vote to help finance the stadium.
The team has expressed these delays could put the project in jeopardy, once again opening up the possibility of relocation.
One of the most vocal critics of the deal for the stadium project met with St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch on Monday to talk about a path forward.
Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala said after the meeting that he is confident that a deal can be reached.
Latvala was a no vote on the stadium deal in July and spoke out last week about the Rays temporary season in Tampa next year. But on X, formerly Twitter, he called the meeting with Welch "productive."
"He has a strong desire to keep the Rays here, as do I," Latvala said of Welch. "I differ with him on the deal, the original deal, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want the Rays to not stay here."
The deal about the historic Gas Plant District includes a stadium for the Rays, who have played at Tropicana Field since the team's inception in 1998.
The stadium was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton in early October. Here are photos that the Rays released on Monday:
Latvala said the delay on the vote for the bonds shouldn't be a deal breaker.
"We have until March to approve the bonds," he said. "And so if we delay the meeting this week, we have another meeting in December."
CLEARWATER MAYOR UNHAPPY WITH RAYS DECLINING BAYCARE BALLPARK
Meanwhile, Clearwater's mayor says it is a significant mistake for the Rays not to play their next season at BayCare Ballpark.
Mayor Bruce Rector said BayCare, the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies, should be the choice if the baseball team wants bed tax money to fund a new stadium.
“So if they want that tax to build a new stadium," Rector said, "it will make sense that they support the businesses that are recovering from the hurricanes who are going to help generate it going forward so we can pay for their new stadium.”
Rector said he doesn't buy the reasons the Rays are choosing to play in Tampa next year, which include more fixed seats and better concessions. He said the city and Phillies contacted the team but didn't get much of a response. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have certain standards that must be met.
“We reached out to them, and the Phillies reached out to them, and it was a ‘thank you’ and no follow up from the Rays on that, which was disappointing," the mayor said. "Because we were already, because of the hurricane, we’re doing some modifications out there.
I would encourage the Rays to reconsider a lot of things ... and how can we help our community recover from these hurricanes in order to generate some goodwill with the county commission.”