Mayor Rick Krisman used the Tropicana Field lease to block the Tampa Bay Rays access to Montreal negotiations for two city concept.
The Rays official statement as read the team will pursue the concept in 2028 after the lease has expired.
Mayor Krisman, in a memo to the St. Petersburg city council, explained the willingness to discuss a new ballpark for the Rays without a shared city concept.
“As I stated earlier this year, while the City of St. Petersburg is willing to discuss contributing to the funding for a new stadium for a full-time team here in St. Petersburg, we will not contribute public dollars to construct a stadium for a part-time team.” He continued. “As such, with no imminent discussions pending regarding a new stadium for a full-time team, we will begin to evaluate our next steps in redeveloping at least parts of the site following additional public engagement.”
Rays Owner Stu Sternberg released a statement on the team’s Twitter account.
A statement from Rays Principal Owner Stu Sternberg. pic.twitter.com/BVDNFfBJWb
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) December 4, 2019
[…] Rays have permission from MLB to pursue a deal to play half of their seasons in Montreal, Canada. St. Petersburg officials blocked talks until the Rays complete their lease at Tropicana […]
[…] has one relocation in 49 years, currently with three franchises considering relocations. The Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Oakland A’s have multiple locations to […]