Simply hours then vote casting to finance maintenance to the house stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, the St. Petersburg Town Council reversed direction.
The Rays will now pay the category rival Unused York Yankees $15 million to play games their house regular-season video games at Unused York’s spring coaching ballpark. This is now the one positive house the Rays may have till additional realize.
The stadium’s fiberglass roof used to be ripped blank off Oct. 9 when Typhoon Milton swept ashore simply south of Tampa Bay. Later got here the harmful aqua injury throughout the venue, inflicting an estimated $55.7 million in injury. The intensive maintenance can’t be completed earlier than the 2026 season, town paperwork display.
Town no less than would have equipped some investment and began the method with its preliminary vote, which used to be a 4-3 choice.
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A drone symbol displays the dome of Tropicana Grassland, which used to be torn unmistakable by way of Typhoon Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 10, 2024. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)
The preliminary vote Thursday used to be to get shifting at the roof portion of the restore. As soon as that used to be performed, crews would start running on laying indisposed a fresh baseball grassland and solving broken seating and administrative center grounds and a number of digital techniques, which will require any other vote to approve cash for the too much recovery.
Individuals who hostile it stated there wasn’t plenty readability on various problems, together with how a lot could be coated by way of the ballpark’s insurance coverage and what quantity may well be equipped by way of the Federal Catastrophe Control Company.
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The reversal on solving Tropicana Grassland got here then the council voted to lengthen attention of earnings bonds for a proposed fresh $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Simply two days previous, the Pinellas County Fee abeyance a vote on its percentage of the fresh stadium bonds, escape that mission in limbo.
“This is a sad place. I’m really disappointed,” council Chair Deborah Figg-Sanders stated. “We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t.”
The Rays say the insufficiency of advance places the fresh stadium plan and the hour of Tropicana Grassland in jeopardy.
“I can’t say I’m confident about anything,” Rays Co-President Brian Auld informed council participants.
Cots at Tropicana Grassland earlier than the coming of Typhoon Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 7, 2024. (Reuters/Octavio Jones)
The reversal now manner the town and Rays will have to paintings on an spare within the coming weeks in order that Tropicana Grassland can in all probability be in a position for the 2026 season.
“I’d like to pare it down and see exactly what we’re obligated to do,” council member John Muhammad stated.
A number of council participants stated earlier than the vote at the $23.7 million to cure the roof that the town is contractually obligated to take action.
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“I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place,” council member Gina Driscoll stated. “We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof.”
The group’s deliberate fresh stadium could be in a position for the 2028 season, if that mission advances, the group stated Tuesday.
Rays supremacy executives stated in a letter to the Pinellas County Fee that the group has already spent $50 million for early paintings at the fresh $1.3 billion ballpark and can’t travel additional as a result of delays in favor of bonds for the family percentage of the prices.
The broken roof of Tropicana Grassland, house of Primary League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, then Typhoon Milton made landfall in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 10, 2024. (Reuters/Octavio Jones)
“The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events,” a letter, signed by way of co-presidents Auld and Matt Silverman, stated. They famous the entire mission used to be in the past licensed by way of the County Fee and the Town of St. Petersburg.
Requested if Primary League Baseball can live on long run within the Tampa Bay branch, Rays Major Proprietor Stuart Sternberg stated the outlook is “less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We’re going to do all that we can, as we’ve tried for 20 years, to keep the Rays here for generations to come.”
The Related Press contributed to this file.
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