Rays Home Opener Clouded by Stadium Drama, Mounting Criticism

The Rays begin their unplanned sojourn Friday into Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees, but the hope that typically comes with a home opener is joined with additional pressure on the club. 

The situation was already difficult for the Rays between the forced shift to the minor league-sized ballpark because of Hurricane Milton last fall, and the club’s recent decision to walk away from a deal for a planned $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla. Now, the Rays and owner Stu Sternberg are being called out, both internally and externally. 

Pinellas County commissioner Chris Latvala is now pursuing reimbursement for costs during the development and approval of public bonds for the stadium. The county was due to provide $312.5 million toward the ballpark before the deal’s demise, and Latvala was among those voting to approve the bonds. Since then, though, he has become an outspoken critic of Sternberg.

“Since Stu Sternberg and the Rays have made numerous comments claims to have the money for the deal they signed, but he has appeared to walk away from, I have asked Pinellas County staff to prepare a letter asking him to reimburse our residents for expenses we incurred,” Latvala said in a social media post. 

It’s not yet certain, though, whether the reimbursement effort will succeed or if there is a legal basis for it, and a specific cost estimate has not yet been finalized. There is support for the idea, however, from St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, who already has said the city is prepared to move on without the Rays.

“We have spent a lot of money. The hours of staff, legal, over a year, nights, weekends, you name it. A lot has been put into this,” Welch said. “So, I do think [Latvala’s] notion has merit, and we’ll consider it.”

League Push

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, meanwhile, is similarly saying that it’s incumbent on Sternberg and the Rays to bring forth a new plan for the club’s long-term future. The league has consistently affirmed its support for remaining in the Tampa area, not surprising since it’s now the No. 11 U.S. media market. Manfred personally lobbied last fall to secure political support for the public stadium bonds, only to see the Rays walk away from the agreement. 

“I think the most important point now is that the Rays and Mr. Sternberg have to come up with a ‘go forward’ plan, what it is they intend to do,” Manfred said in an interview this week with SiriusXM Radio. “I don’t think it’s realistic to play indefinitely in a repaired [Tropicana Field]. But they’ve got to tell the other clubs, and I think they’ve got to tell their fan base that they have a plan for making it work in Tampa Bay.”

Calls for Sternberg to sell the Rays have risen steadily in this last month, as rumors grew that the club would abandon the stadium deals, and then were confirmed. Rays officials, however, have insisted the franchise is not for sale.