The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of funding $312.5 million worth of bonds Tuesday night. What sounds like a simple procedural move was far from it. Over the past six weeks, the $1.3 billion stadium deal for the Tampa Bay Rays — celebrated in July by all parties as a watershed moment for a franchise that had spent nearly two decades trying to build a new ballpark — has found itself in jeopardy. And it all started Oct. 29.
Less than three weeks after Hurricane Milton tore through the roof of Tropicana Field and caused tens of billions of dollars more in damage on Oct. 10, the Pinellas commission convened to approve the bonds needed for the new stadium. What the Rays believed would be a rubber stamp turned into a mess when the commission postponed the vote. While commissioners said the delay stemmed from wanting to know where the Rays would play in 2025 (in mid-November they would name George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees ‘ minor league stadium outside of Pinellas County in Tampa, as their new temporary home), the team felt betrayed.