The Rays that they will not proceed with the plan to construct a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg. The organization has telegraphed that decision for months. The Rays maintain that a delay in approval for public funding from the city and Pinellas County in the wake of the hurricanes has contributed to untenable cost overruns which were to be the teams responsibility under the initial plan. Unsurprisingly, that decision has further strained an already tense relationship between the team and local officials. St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch told reporters he (has) no interest in working with this ownership group, adding that the bridge has been burned ( ). County commi sioner Chris Latvala also called for owner Stu Sternberg to sell the franchise. I think the best way to keep baseball in Tampa Bay is for Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays, he said ( ). This was probably one of the best stadium deals that an owner has ever received in profe sional sports, and it wasnt good enough for Stu Sternberg. This all comes a few days after The Athletic reported that commi sioner Rob Manfred and various owners have Sternberg to sell. Team president Matt Silverman reiterated thats not currently on the table. The team is not for sale , Silverman told . Asked about the report that Sternberg was under pre sure from the league, the team president Nellie Fox Jersey acknowledged the other owners arent happy with where our revenues are but implied that proceeding with the stadium deal would have been a mistake that (results) in us continuing to be an outlier and not being able to generate the nece sary revenues to be a full-fledged member of Major League Baseball. That aligns with Sternbergs previous comments. If it was (for sale), people would know it, the owner told last month. Ive always been, and I will continue to be, pretty transparent about our intentions. And pretty not pretty but very honest about them. And I have been. In December, the Rays said in a statement that they wanted to renegotiate with the city and county to solve this funding gap together. Local officials have maintained they will not approve more public funding. Welch stated this afternoon that St. Petersburg is through working with Sternbergs ownership group. Silverman, in line with the Rays previous comments, said the team is interested in continuing discu sions on a new deal (presumably with more public money). It doesnt change our devotion to the Tampa Bay area. It doesnt change our desire to figure something out. It just means this specific project on this specific timeline isnt going to happen , he told Krasniqi. He added that the Rays will continue to look to the city and the county for those conversations and see how we can reengage and see if theres a solution here because we were close . Additionally, it seems theyll try to initiate new discu sions with the City of Tampa, which is located in Hillsborough County. I think we will because we have to look at all po sibilities within our region to figure out an answer, Silverman said. We havent had any conversations with anyone on the Tampa/Hillsborough side. We cant until after March 31 (the official expiration date of the St. Petersburg deal). Tampa mayor Jane Castor released a statement to The Tampa Bay Times that expre sed openne s to conversations: I am disappointed to hear that the Rays dont intend to follow through with stadium plans in St. Petersburg. The goal always has been to keep the team in Tampa Bay. The City, Tampa Sports Authority, and County are happy to speak with the team once again, but any proposal will have to make sense for our taxpayers and community. With the St. Petersburg deal falling apart, therell be speculation from outside the organization about relocation. MLB said this afternoon that the league remains committed to the region. The Rays would need to get approval from the league to explore opportunities outside the Tampa Bay area. The Rays will play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Theyre hoping to return to Tropicana Field for the 2026-28 seasons. The teams lease at the Trop initially ran through 27 but was pushed back a year with the team not playing there this season. St. Petersburg is responsible for repairing the damage to the Trop, which will reportedly cost around $55.7MM. Jared Shuster Jersey