PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Tampa Bay Rays on-line fan membership with greater than 25,000 members is urging the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners to proceed with the stadium deal beforehand accredited by the fee in July.
Heather Clark, a die arduous Rays fan, is a heavily-involved member of the group.
“The financial affect of getting that sort of growth goes to be substantial, and it’s going to be long-lasting,” she stated.
Clark and others had been excited this previous summer season when native leaders seemingly signed off on a deal to maintain the staff in St. Petersburg long run.
Then, Hurricane Milton hit and ripped the roof off Tropicana Discipline.
After the staff introduced a deal to play at George M. Steinbrenner Discipline in Tampa throughout the 2025 season, some commissioners like Chris Latvala expressed frustration.
“I believe that it is unlucky,” stated Latvala, who represents Fee District 5, in an interview with ABC Motion Information final week.
Latvala believes the staff ought to have performed subsequent season at a minor league ballpark in Pinellas County, and he stated he has no proof the staff even tried to try this.
“In whole, there’s going to be over $1 billion in public funds devoted from Pinellas residents to the Tampa Bay Rays, and the thanks that the Rays gave them was to play the video games throughout the bridge in Hillsborough County,” he stated.
On account of the Rays’ momentary residence in Tampa, Latvala plans to vote in opposition to the staff’s longer-term effort to construct a brand new stadium in St. Petersburg as a part of the town of St. Pete’s Historic Gasoline Plant District Redevelopment.
Whereas commissioners accredited the stadium deal in a 5-2 vote again in July, they nonetheless want commissioners to log off on the bonds required to partially fund the brand new stadium.
Latvala won’t be the one ‘no’ vote. He may doubtlessly be joined by different members of the fee, together with two just lately elected. If a majority of commissioners refuse to log off on the bonds, it may jeopardize all the deal to maintain the Rays in St. Pete.
That vote may occur throughout a Tuesday assembly at 2 p.m.
“I sort of really feel prefer it’s shortsighted, and I really feel like we’ve misplaced the main focus,” stated Clark.
Proper now, Clark and different members are working across the clock to make commissioners conscious of their ideas.
“They’re out in droves with a marketing campaign of emailing, textual content messaging, calling,” she stated. “It’s just about a social media blitz, I’d name it.”
She’s hoping it should make a distinction in her group’s effort to maintain MLB and the Rays in Tampa Bay.
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Financial institution lastly endorses FL’s man hurricane insurance coverage test after we shared his story