Pinellas Commissioner urges Rays to SELL, trusts MLB commitment

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Chris Latvala, a critic of the deal, was a critical swing vote.

Less than two weeks after St. Petersburg City Council revived what was thought to be a dead deal, Pinellas County Commissioners approved the bond resolution needed to move the Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal forward.

Commissioner Chris Latvala, considered one of three possible swing votes, voted in favor of the deal, noting that he didn’t want Rays owner Stu Sternberg to reap the benefits of a land deal in St. Petersburg if the Rays didn’t play baseball there. While he voted “yes,” he said, “our fans and residents deserve a new owner.”

The resolution passed 5-2, with new Commissioners Vince Nowicki and Chris Scherer voting against the deal. Latvala, Dave Eggers, Rene Flowers, Kathleen Peters and Brian Scott voted favorably.

The vote means both the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have now upheld their respective ends of the stadium and adjacent land redevelopment deal, putting the ball in the Rays’ court to continue moving forward.

The Pinellas County Commission approved its version of the stadium deal earlier this year. It called for $312.5 million in bonds from the county’s tourism development tax, which visitors pay on hotel and other lodging stays. The Commission was set to approve the bonds last month, just before Thanksgiving, but delayed the vote until Dec. 17. Before that, the Commission was scheduled to vote on the resolution on Oct. 29.

Read More: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/712527-after-2-delays-pinellas-county-commission-approves-rays-stadium-bonds-keeping-the-hope-of-major-league-baseball-alive/

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49 comments

  2. I have a feeling the conversation with Manfred something like this: Hey look what we just did to Oakland, a city we were in for over 50 years, won four titles, and numerous hall of famers. What history do the Ray's have? Pay up or else.

  3. JP Peterson reaction on X and he’s been right about this entire saga for day one and everything he has said has come to fruition: “The Pinellas County Commission will pass the bonds but this doesn’t mean the deal Is done in St. Pete. Quite the opposite. If you listen to what Latvala says…this is only about calling the Rays bluff. And he says Manfred has assured him they are staying in TAMPA BAY…not St Pete. I know Manfred is aware of the Tampa Group that wants to buy the team and build in Tampa. Latvala alludes to that in his skewering of Sternberg that Manfred and the other owners want new local
    Ownership and a new deal in Tampa. It may take a season longer but at least we will get it right. And St Pete will get their land back and be able to build something that will be far better use of public dollars and way better for St. Pete IMO.”

    Peterson adds sarcastically: “I’m pretty sure Commish Manfred does not side with the Rays here. Evidently $1.7 Billion in public money, and another $5-700 Million in Real Estate profits is not enough. The Rays need more from the Public.”

    Insanity! bottom line folks. Stu is going to sell the team an MLB is going to force him to do it. Tampa is getting done much sooner than later and the Rays are not moving. so let’s cut the BS on Omaha on Nashville, etc..

  5. What a joke, you can’t trust a single thing that MLB says they don’t care about your city all they care is you doing what they want just look at what they did to me and my fellow Oakland fans they did it to us and they’ll happily do it again to any other city they deem to no longer in their eyes be a an MLB matket

  13. So this guy admits to voting no at the last county commission vote and his excuse was he objected to the land deal. And now he's mad at Stu for pointing out that they delayed the initial vote so that a guy like this could join the board when they had all the votes they needed before the election. All this bravado screams I don't want to be the one to take blame for the Rays leaving St Pete.

  14. I watched the entire meeting. I thought Latvala was foolish when he said that he trusts Rob Manfred when he said he wanted the Rays to stay in the Tampa Bay Area, didn't he also say that to Oakland?

    They passed the bonds, but this is far from over. If Stu was intentionally trying to tank the deal so that he could keep the 65 acres on the Tropicana Field site, he lost that bluff. If he doesn't really want to be in St. Pete or feels that he can't financially follow through with this deal, he'll either have to sell the team or send a notice of termination, at which point, he'll lose the 65 acres and the Rays will virtually be free agents.

  23. So many home owners donot have the money to fix their homes, insurances are becoming unaffordable, condo new assessments are unaffordable, but the county have found the money to support a billionaire.

  26. Idiot voters and corrupt politicians push tax dollars to billionaires to build stadiums. BEYOND stupid. Make the owners buy their own property and build their own stadiums. Thankyou Seattle City council for telling the Sonics to F off. Saved taxpayers millions.

  29. So Manfraud will fight for the Rays fans but not the Oakland’s, sorry man but he’s playing y’all too. Manfraud claimed to want MLB to stay in Oakland only for him a few years later to tell us to become Giants fans, don’t be surprised when he tells y’all to start following the Marlins.😑

  33. Does this mean Manfred's trip to Florida was effective?

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  36. The Pinellas County Commission voted overwhelmingly by a 5-2 margin to approve funding for its portion of the Rays new stadium deal. That puts the onus on current ownership to fulfill their commitment to the project. Left to be resolved is who and how the cost overrun will be paid. Don't be surprised if Sternberg sells the team to owners who will keep the Rays in St. Petersburg. Fans should be excited about the future of the franchise.

  38. Never trust someone who has to read off a sheet of paper word for word like that. It shows he doesn't even know what he's talking about or believes in what he's saying. When you have conviction and knowledge of something you don't need to read it from a piece of paper.

  41. Gee, i wonder why the Rays arent happy with St Pete / Pinellas County? This isnt a "negotiation tactic". This is open hostility.

    What isn't public knowledge are all of the private meetings and phone calls going on between the Rays and other locations. You can be guaranteed that there are other locations calling on the Rays to make a deal to relocate. Manfred doesn't want the Rays or A's to relocate because he knows that Oakland and St Pete dont have the resources or desire to attract an expansion team. So when (if?) the A's move to Vegas or if the Rays move elsewhere then those new locations are out of the pool of prospective expansion sites. Thats the real reason that Manfred is involved.

    He really doesnt care deeply about keeping the Rays in St Pete because of the fans in St Pete or vecause he has new friends in the local government. He just wants as much competition as possible for expansion ao that the existing owners can get the biggest expansion fee as possible.

  45. I like how the first commissioner calls the Rays "our team", and repeats that several times. He wants a new local owner who will not move "our team". Then why doesn't Pinellas county simply buy the Rays?

  46. Baseball must give the fans more respect. The owners look to cities to foot the bill, and if they don't get everything they ask for. They blame the fans and shop for a baseball starved city to relocate, too.
    Before a city gives a dime to a billionaire for a stadium, they should get a pernup.
    All trades must be for the good of the team with a city representative, with veto power.
    Owner can not take the team name out of the market.
    A city representative has the right to oversee stadium maintenance and upkeep.

  49. The voters chose candidates who oppose this terrible deal. Thanks to the two commissioners who stood up for Pinellas County taxpayers, not for a baseball' commissioner and a billionaire team owner.

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