ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a new letter to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, the Tampa Bay Rays said a new ballpark can't be delivered for the start of the 2028 season and that opening a ballpark in 2029 would be too expensive.
The letter comes as the Pinellas County Commission is scheduled to vote on approving the stadium bonds at Tuesday night's meeting. They have already delayed the vote once.
"As we have informed the county administrator and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, the county’s failure to finalize the bonds last month ended the ability for a 2028 delivery of the ballpark," the Rays said in their letter.
The team continued, "As we have made clear at every step of this process, a 2029 ballpark delivery would result in significantly higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone."
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According to the Rays' letter, the team has told architects, builders, and consultants that the stadium agreement had not been honored by the county, and they have "suspended work on the entire project," including both the ballpark and the Historic Gas Plant District.
The team said it had spent more than $50 million on the project, and St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved the agreement, but that investment is now in jeopardy because the county has not moved forward on the plan.
ABC Action News reached out to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to ask if the city may be interested again in making a play for the Rays to move to Tampa.
"She and the city's other partners would be happy to talk to the Rays if the appropriate time comes," Mayor Castor's office said in an email.
Read the full letter below:
Tampa Bay Rays letter to BO... by ABC Action News
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