The Tampa Bay Rays have renewed hope for a stadium deal after nearly two decades of failed efforts to develop a successor facility to Tropicana Field.
Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg – who has faced years of criticism for his apparent inability or refusal to reach a deal with a local stadium – said he is “very optimistic” that a deal worth approximately $1.2 billion will be reached in St. Petersburg by the end of the year.
Sternberg also said he was willing to pay more than half the cost of the stadium, a notion that led the owner to seek investors in exchange for a minority stake in the team. However, this pursuit turned into months of unsolicited activity. ask for information about purchasing a majority stake in the Rays – something Sternberg is not currently interested in.
“When you talk about people potentially raising hundreds of millions of dollars, they say, ‘Well, maybe we can buy it all.’ “So they come after you,” Sternberg told the Tampa Bay Times.
However, behind Sternberg’s hopeful outlook was a revived threat that the team could ultimately leave the Tampa area if the stadium deal was not completed.
“If I don’t manage to do something here, the best buyer will be someone from elsewhere and the team will be sold,” he said.
Despite still commissioning Fourth smallest payroll in MLB and ranking 27th in average attendance, the Rays have the second-best record in the American League, are poised for a fifth straight playoff appearance and haven’t had a losing season since 2017.
