Ybor City's proposed $892M ballpark lacked certain details that may have led the Rays to commitRAYS
Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg yesterday said that the plan to build a ballpark in Ybor City is no longer viable, but the team "remains committed to looking for a new home in the Tampa Bay area," according to a front-page piece by Topkin & O'Donnell of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Sternberg said that the "lack of details" in building the proposed $892M ballpark in Ybor City "failed to give the team the certainty it needed to commit by the end of the year to proceed with the project." He also said that the team "does not see enough progress to ask St. Petersburg for an extension on its Dec. 31 deadline to negotiate a new ballpark site" near Pinellas County (Fla.). Topkin & O'Donnell note the team's decision was "backed by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred." Manfred said in a letter that the proposed framework for a deal put together by Hillsborough County "lacked specifics such as commitments for financing and timetables for finalizing a deal and starting construction." Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said that he "does not believe that the Rays are ready to give up" on an Ybor City ballpark. Hagan said county officials will "continue to flesh out details of a financing package," but a "major stumbling block remains." The county's proposed financing deal "requires the team to pay half of the cost of the ballpark" up to a maximum of $475M. The Rays have "yet to say" whether they are willing to do so. Sternberg had "previously floated" a $150M contribution by the team for the proposed ballpark, before saying that he would "pay more but not how much" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/12).
SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS: USA TODAY's Gabe Lacques notes Sternberg "went to great lengths" to ensure the club remains committed to Tampa, and "did not discount that the club may yet again try to look in the Tampa area" for a new ballpark solution. However, any deal in Tampa would "require more political approval from St. Petersburg's end." Despite the "will to try again, the reality is the club once again is back to square one: No site, and no permission -- for now -- to seek one in perhaps the region's most viable area." For the Rays, the deal falling through "may not force them out" of Tropicana Field by '27, but it "certainly gives a more ominous tick to their stadium clock." Sternberg said that even if the "political, location, funding and construction processes all went without a hitch," the earliest a new Rays ballpark could be opened would be '24 (USA TODAY, 12/12).
DESPERATION TIME: In Tampa, John Romano writes the deal "fell apart because there wasn't enough enthusiasm (read: desperation) among the political establishment in Hillsborough County to suggest that diverting tax dollars toward" building a ballpark would be a "sound investment for Ybor City and downtown Tampa." There was also not enough enthusiasm "among Rays ownership to accept a potentially flimsy deal that might have cost them more in construction costs than they would have recouped in increased revenues." The longer this "game plays out, the stronger the team's leverage grows." Romano: "No stadium in Ybor? Fine, the Rays can always talk to St. Pete. No stadium in St. Pete? Fine, they can eventually listen to Montreal, Portland, San Antonio or some other city that is more eager (read: desperate) to pay for the bulk of a stadium that opens in 2028" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/12).
