This is arguably the most important week in Rays franchise history, with the MLB club’s stadium future once again hanging in the balance.
The city of Tampa is scheduled to vote on Thursday on its contribution toward a planned $2.36 billion ballpark, with Hillsborough County Commission set to follow with a separate vote the next day. Together, the two jurisdictions are set to contribute up to $876 million for the facility—down from a previously targeted figure of $976 million—but the politics around each vote are still highly delicate.
In recent weeks, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has clashed with the city council over the issue and restructured its potential taxpayer contribution to the project, while two county commissioners have raised new concerns about the structure of the stadium deal. Through these and other developments, the public-sector burden has shifted considerably to the county compared to the original deal framework, with that jurisdiction now set to contribute $796 million and the city another $80 million. The Rays are responsible for the remaining cost, as well as any overruns…