St. Pete approves bonds for Rays ballpark, saving deal — for now

St. Petersburg’s City Council voted Thursday to approve more than $280 million in bonds to help build a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays, one of two local government votes needed to potentially save a deal approved in July.

The Pinellas County commission is scheduled to take up its portion of the bond financing — $312.5 million that is tied to bed tax revenue — at a Dec. 17 meeting.

Thursday’s vote was 4-3. Council members Richie Floyd, Lisset Hanewicz and John Muhammad voted against approving the bonds. They also voted against the deal in July.

The seat for District 3 is currently vacant.

The city’s approval was the latest twist in a long and convoluted story that has seen a deal that just a few months ago was heralded as a big win for all involved to be on the brink of collapse.

And while St. Petersburg’s vote may have been the first positive step in the past several weeks, there is no guarantee that the stadium will be built.

Pinellas County, which has twice delayed its vote with several members expressing skepticism, may still reject its portion of the bonds. And the Rays have said the project has been halted, though it somewhat backtracked on that threat last week.

“Quite frankly, I think we’re calling (the Rays') bluff…We're in, we're a partner in this,” says Brandi Gabbard who represents District 2 and voted in favor of the bonds.

“Hopefully, the county will follow suit and then it'll be up to the Rays to decide. It'll be up to them to go back to their partners, go back and find other funding. And then, when they can't perform, it will be up to them to come back and say they can't.”

The team, which is unable to play at Tropicana Field in 2025 because of damage to the stadium and has to pay a reported $15 million to move to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa for at least one season, has said the costs have grown too high because of a potential one-year construction delay as they take a revenue hit from moving to a smaller ballpark.

(The Rays, according to the original agreement, are responsible for all cost overruns and will pay about $600 million for the ballpark.)

County commissioners opposed to the bonds, for their part, have said the money could be used elsewhere given the county suffered significant damage from Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

Despite the concerns, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told city council members during the meeting that there is some hope that the ballpark will move forward without additional funding from the city.

He says that there have been discussions in the past week between himself, the project’s developers and Pinellas commissioners as well a Tuesday meeting at City Hall with the Ray’s owner Stuart Sternberg and his leadership team.

“I wanted you to know that there is a consensus that the agreement that you all approved in July is valid and in effect, using the wording from the Rays,” Welch says.

“And while significant issues do remain with regard to the Rays' stadium obligations, the discussions were productive, and our options are becoming clearer.”

At risk is not just a $1.3 billion ballpark.

The deal also is tied to the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District, a Black neighborhood razed in the 1990s to make way for Tropicana Field.

The massive 8 million-square-foot multi-use development is expected to deliver more than 5,400 residential units; 1,250 workforce and attainable housing units; 1.4 million square feet of office and medical space; 750,000 square feet of retail space; 750 hotel rooms; and 14 acres of parks and open space. This along with the Woodson African American Museum of Florida and an amphitheater.

After Thursday’s vote, Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement that "we appreciate that the St. Petersburg City Council took action on this item today.”