'It leaves a bad taste in the mouth': Pinellas leaders disappointed by Rays' decision to play in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays, who normally play in St. Petersburg, are crossing the Howard Frankland Bridge and bringing their 2025 season to the Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

It has fans like Adam McFoy excited.

"I think they'll get a little bit more fans from Tampa," he said. "Tampa is a bigger city. People I know don't like driving over the bridge just to watch the Rays play. I think it also hurts St. Pete a little bit as well."

While fans think the Rays knocked it out of the park, elected leaders throughout Pinellas County couldn't disagree more.

"We're very disappointed because of the $312 million of the county bed tax that's going to be used for the Rays' new stadium," said Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector. "Clearwater historically has generated about $125 million of that."

Rector said this decision isn't winning over elected officials in the county.

"I think if they would have handled it differently with Clearwater, I know a number of the commissioners who were concerned already about whether or not it was a wise spend of the bed tax, knowing that we have much beach renourishment that needs to be done," Rector said. "We were coming out of two hurricanes where we need a lot of things done here to recover for the tourism industry, and then you take the way this was handled, it certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many leaders in Pinellas County."

Different ballpark options could have kept the Rays in Pinellas Park. TD Ballpark is located in Dunedin, the spring training home for the Toronto Blue Jays. Baycare Ballpark is in Clearwater, where the Philadelphia Phillies conduct their spring training.

The decision to move counties and put the team in Tampa blindsided Rector.

"It's just a matter of whose tax money you're going to use to build a new stadium," he said. "If you're going to use our county's residents in Clearwater's portion of the bed tax to fund a new stadium, we just ask for a little respect. For recognition and community input and awareness."

Rector said he wasn't the only one left in the dark about the decision.

"The Phillies reached out to the Rays and had an offer, but the Rays did not take them up on any of those offers," he said.

County Commissioner Chris Latvala shared Rector's frustrations, saying he, too, learned about the decision from the news.

"I don't think the Rays made any kind of good faith effort to ever stay in Pinellas," Latvala said.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said the city is doing what it can to prepare Tropicana Field for the 2026 season. But Latvala thinks something more may be boiling with the Rays playing in Tampa next year.

"I'm skeptical that it's just one season," he said.

ABC Action News' Jada Williams wanted to get a clearer idea of where the sales tax from ticket and vendor sales will go.

Hillsborough County will receive the bed tax and other tourism dollars, but it is still unknown which county will receive the stadium tax. In addition, what about the vendors inside Tropicana Field? Will they be able to work inside Steinbrenner?

Here's what the Rays had to say:

Rector questioned the team's intent to continue playing in St. Pete after the 2025 season.

"I worry about their commitment to our county and the citizens of St. Petersburg and the city of Clearwater," Rector said. "Like if they're not willing to give us at least strong consideration for next season."

What lies next are the county bonds to help fund a new stadium. The county is set to contribute about $615 million over 30 years to the Rays. 

"The county is putting up half the money. We're putting up roughly $300 million in our county bed taxes, and we're going to be financing that," Latvala said. "When all is said and done, and the financing is set, the county will be contributing $615 million over the next 30 years on top of what the city is contributing. I mean, that's a massive commitment from Pinellas County, and so I would think that, you know, the Rays would want to be good partners with the county and want to stay in the county. If they drive the tourists here, it would behoove them to have their games here."

Latvala knows exactly where he stands on the matter.

"What it says to me is the Rays made strictly a business decision," he said. "They did not care about their fans in Pinellas County. They did not care about Pinellas County residents. If they're looking at it strictly from a business decision, I don't believe they need our bed tax dollars to fund their business decisions."

Both Rector and Latvala believe this is proof that the Rays still want to make Tampa their permanent home.

"I'm afraid that it reflects their commitment to our county, that they tried very hard to have a stadium in Tampa," Rector said. "Ybor City was one site. They had several sites, but they wanted very badly at one time to have the baseball stadium in Tampa."

"I think the Rays very early on determined that it was best in their franchise to go to Tampa," Latvala said. "I don't think that it was any secret that they've wanted to be in Tampa for a while, and this was their chance to break into that market and get more fans in Tampa."