Hillsborough County (Fla.) Administrator Mike Merrill said that the county "needs to know what the Rays think" about the framework of a possible deal for a new ballpark in Ybor City, which he sent to county commissioners in a memo Friday, according to Charlie Frago of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Merrill said, "We're kind of at that point. Our mission was to build a framework for a deal and this is the best we could come up with. We really need to hear from the Rays." Frago notes in '19, the Rays' agreement with the city of St. Petersburg, which "allowed the team to spend three years" looking for Hillsborough ballpark sites, will expire. Merrill said that he thought the "first step before that agreement ends would be for the Rays to agree to the terms outlined" in his memo. Frago notes in advance of talks between the county and the Rays, Hillsborough officials "plan to create a negotiating team" that will include County Commissioner Ken Hagan, the county's designated point person on a new ballpark deal; Tampa Sports Authority President & CEO Eric Hart; a rep from the city of Tampa; and Irwin Raij of O'Melveny & Myers. Raij "had been working with the county," and will report to the Sports Authority, which has "been the conduit" for past Tampa venue deals including Raymond James Stadium and Amalie Arena. Merrill said that the new arrangement with Raij "means that the city will help pay his legal bills." Frago notes Merrill's memo "listed April 30 as the tentative date to finish hammering out" a deal for the proposed ballpark (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/4).
