ST. PETE, Fla. — The St. Pete City Council members are scheduled to vote Thursday afternoon on whether to approve bonds that would make up the city’s portion of funding for the Tampa Bay Rays new ballpark.

This is the same vote that city council members decided in a 5-2 split in November to delay to a later date. Many council members were not aware that the vote had been rescheduled to Thursday until they were notified of the addition to the agenda on Wednesday morning.

The city’s bond vote was originally scheduled for November 21. At that meeting, City Council member Gina Driscoll lead the charge to delay the vote until more questions could be answered about cost, where the Rays will play their next few seasons, and if city infrastructure that was stressed during the hurricanes - like wastewater systems - had any upgrades pending.

“We have good people and we have good partners but I think we all need more time,” she stated to the council members in November. “But we can save this deal.”

Thursday’s meeting is one of two left before two new city council members get sworn in early next year. Both newly-elected council members have been skeptical of the current Ray’s ballpark deal.

During the last formal discussion, Rays co-president Brian Auld said the current deal likely won’t work anymore. Auld expressed concerns that delays in bond votes by both the county and city have pushed back the timeline and in turn made the project more expensive. The Rays have not officially pulled out of the deal.

Pinellas County Commissioners rescheduled vote is now set for Decemeber 17. 

A group of residents that make up the opposition group ‘No Home Run’ plan to hold a rally on the steps of city hall Thursday before the scheduled vote. The organizer says there’s still too many unanswered questions and he fears the city is trying to pull a ‘fast one’.

The city meeting and subsequent discussion is set for 1:30 p.m.