Rays President Matt Silverman Responds with a Letter | Locked On Rays

34 comments

1. The deal only required 1200 affordable units and they could pay a penalty to avoid honoring them. Deal was terrible anyway. Not good enough for $500 mil from taxpayers.

2. The problems are, as always, with our incompetent so-called government that lives in an alternate universe. A business' political understanding/acumen, or lack thereof, is the reason for pulling the rug out from under this massive, important project. We see it every time there is a change in government bodies, throwing work already agreed upon to the wind. Deals have been upended over and over again, so now we are here. Of course, the little Napoleon complexes these petty tyrants have only hurt the citizens they are supposed to be representing. Don't want the team? Forget the ridiculous pandering and optics and say so. Let the Rays go to a city that wants them. As a lifelong Expos fan, I can only say that the little kings should feel the brunt of the citizenry as the Rays play on TV from Nashville, Salt Lake City, or some other city.

3. Tampa is a big market

4. I saw Kevin and Sully together. Sully seems like a good guy, but he is ridiculously predictable with his shtick. I can see the headline and know exactly what he is going to say. Owners should spend more, no matter if the business can do so judiciously. He loves the mega and long-term deals that are furiously pulling the league toward a CBA showdown that is not only with the players but also lines in the sand between the low- and high-revenue owner groups. Sully's mantra is that if someone is wealthy on paper, making poor decisions so fans feel good is always the appropriate response. It's ok to dislike the Rays and A's ownership for whatever reason one wants. If we fail to see the dichotomy between the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, and a few others with the rest of the league, it will be quite manifest in two seasons. MLB's systemic inequality is not sustainable.

5. Pinellas County and City of St Pete are being schooled and are totally out of their league, pardon the pun. Unfortunately, I don't see this resolved and will probably get a lot uglier. Does anyone see these parties making a mutual deal? Rays hold leverage and can force City to make repairs on trop 1.0, if not just more lawsuits. MLB should take more ownership of these stadium deals so it doesn't come back making everyone look so bad.

6. Good stuff, guys!
   I don't believe this is on the Rays.
   Their only missteps have been keeping the cards so close to the chest, securing/announcing Steinbrenner Field and some public comments about how important getting the bonds passed in a timely manner would be to the ability to continue w the deal.
   The Rays lost their place to play and secured the biggest, closest venue they could w their own $.
   They're going to lose countless dollars in revenue in many different avenues just from that alone.
   They also need the bond approvals to show potential investors that this thing is happening and will be able to be wrapped up by the original date. Investors need to be able to see when they're going to see their ROI so they will invest.
   Pushing back the bond votes complicates things by allowing new elected officials, some of whom oppose the stadium and have not been working towards this project to delay/complicate the deal. Approve the bonds already, and let's move forward! The egos seem to lie w the government officials who didn't get the Rays to Clearwater. The Rays even saved the city $ by telling them not to repair the Trop. The city/county seems to be posturing to get the Rays to pull out of the deal because they realize they gave up too much on the redevelopment side. If anyone is not holding up their end of the bargain, it's the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, IMO.

7. In more relevant news, C – K. Higashioka to TX on a 2yr deal 😢

8. Latvala didn’t like the outcome. Used the hurricane to get the result he wanted.

9. 12:08 the problem with this idea that he's not rich enough to own a baseball team is any other person with more wealth will not want to do this deal as it stands with St. Petersburg. Anyone with more wealth would buy the team under the condition that they get to relocate.

   Let's face facts. It's well known in this day and age that waiting makes things cost more. This was agreed to in July. Why would you wait until you have two additional no votes on your board to conduct a vote if you weren't trying to back out of the deal?

10. Didn't think we'd reach a point where it would come to this. Probably the best solution as Ulises said is for Stu to sell the team to local investors to keep the team in Tampa.

11. Latvala didn’t like the outcome. Used the hurricane to get the result he wanted. Saying if they gave him a heads up about playing in Tampa would make him do anything different is laughable. At least one thing came out of this and that is Latvala should not be in any position of power.

12. The bonds must be approved because initial approval was in July, these bond votes were meant to be a formality, procedural, if city or county don't approve bonds then they sink the deal which means the Rays will keep development rights for other 65 acres and relocate team to different part of country

13. You hit the nail on the head, Kevin. The money that Stu will get from the development of the remaining land will more than pay for any cost overruns. The Rays’ attitude is pathetic unless they have been assuming that the county counsel won’t approve the bond issuance under any circumstances.

14. Its clear that no one seems to want to get this entire stadium thing done there in Florida so pull up stakes Rays and bring your team and franchise out West to Oakland,CA.. Theres good weather just about all the time…theres a fantastic ,devoted fan base out awaiting you plus you would be playing in a very lucrative area . The Coliseum suffers from years of neglect but it can be fixed and theres always the possibility of building a new ballpark. Currently the Coliseums site is next to BART the 880 Freeway is on none side and the 580 Freeway is on the other side.The Oakland Airport is nearby and has connection to BART . You do have options IF you do choose to relocate.

15. St Pete will do the vote 12/12 meeting, then county will do vote 12/17 meeting

16. Please come to Tampa! New start! There are a couple of spots available!

17. I must say that the recent episodes have been more interesting than a breakdown of Taylor Walls’ 2024 campaign.

18. I truly believe Latvala and Eggers will hear all the back n forth and say they are open to it….but will NEVER sway from a no vote.

19. Will City of Tampa ever, EVER sweep in and actually get OUR team HOME. In Tampa Bay!

20. Appreciate you boys, RAYS UP

21. This just frustrates tf out of me cause the city of Nashville put up 1.2 billion just in taxpayers money for a 4 billion dollar football stadium. Our whole price of the stadium is the total price Nashville payed just in taxpayers money. It’s fucked

22. Remember….Here to Stay. 😅

23. Utah has 900 million sitting on the table to assist in building a new stadium. That's where there going. Sorry Tampa

24. I think next season is the last season the Rays are in TB

25. The Rays will be leaving the Florida

26. I'm sorry… But, I DISAGREE with your take… I don't think Rays are trying to change the deal… I actually think it is the exact opposite!!! I think they love this deal so much, and thought it was a done deal, and now they are scared or frustrated that it is in jeopardy!!! They are like a kid promised a new video game today, then at the last second the parent says lets just wait a couple of days… The kid is too impatient and wants it now, and is worried they may not get the game…. I also think if bonds are approved on December 17th, the deal will be right back on track…

27. I don't understand the people that want Stu to sell the team. For starters, there are no investors in the Bay Area that are going to pay full price and still have to deal with the stadium issue. If Stu is forced to sell because local government stuck him in the back, why would it benefit Stu to sell to local investors instead of to the highest bidder?

28. I heard that if the Rays don’t back out they get to keep the land. I’m not sure if this is true or not.

29. I do not believe the Rays have the money. Stu is not a billionaire. Just look at his net worth, which some is tied to the Rays ownership. By playing at Steinbrenner, they will lose at least 445k in attendance. That’s a huge revenue shortfall that they can’t make up because of the size of the stadium. The best outcome is for Stu to sell to a billionaire who can operate this team.

30. This isn’t a small market market 😡 stop drinking the cool aid. Stu makes it seem that way and you guys choose to believe it

31. Tampa? Hillsborough County recently went to court to prevent a referendum on a tax increase …. For schools and teacher pay. So, baseball stadium?

32. The Rays are a team that is looking to finalize the bond deal as agreed. The delay of the vote will delay the opening of the development by a year, which will lead to higher costs. The cost of such massive development of this nature is very vulnerable to time delays. Inflation and MLB scheduling is a ticking clock, and politicians do not recognize the cost of this delay. They are looking at it from the lens of pretending to be tough to get votes. I think this standoff will conclude or fail in the next 30 days. By January we will know how this concludes and might lead to undesirable consequences.

33. MLB should force a sale. Rays owners are broke.

34. Love you guys so much! I dont get to talk to really any rats fans living in GA so it's great to listen to your podcast over the past years. We are truly in a shit storm right now😂😂. But yall make the ride a little easier knowing im not the only person feeling annoyed! Haha keep it going boys we are in for a longggg ride