Months after the future of baseball in Tampa Bay was bandied about as all but a done deal, the plan to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg has been upended. A Pinellas County Commission vote on financing for the deal, set for Tuesday, was once seen as a formality but entered the day on shaky ground after a series of delays and the election of two new commissioners.

Then, in a letter released hours before Tuesday’s meeting, the team signaled that the current deal is in serious jeopardy. Team presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld wrote that the county’s delay of the financing vote has made the planned opening of a new ballpark in 2028 impossible, and that the team could not afford the higher costs that would accompany a 2029 opening. It was “ready to work on a new solution” to keep the team in Tampa Bay, the presidents wrote.

Whether a vote would even happen Tuesday was already an open question, with some commissioners pushing for another delay. The Rays’ letter added even more uncertainty. And if the deal falls apart, it’s unclear what will happen to the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District surrounding the stadium, which relies on an agreement between the team and St.

Petersburg that the county has no hand in. Read on for live updates from Tampa Bay Times reporters at the meeting. 4:30: Hurricanes take a toll, and influence future decisionsAs public comment continues, so do mentions of recent hurricanes — on both sides of the issue.

Michael McGrath, an organizer for Sierra Club Florida, argued that the unsettled moment gives the county a chance to lead by example on environmental issues. Commissioners should vote no today and push for more climate-conscious measures, including a stadium that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane. ”Imagine the devastating impact if we were to build a stadium that cannot withstand the next major storm,” he said.

But in the wake of recent storms, a new stadium is also a chance for the county to move forward economically, said Chris Steinocher, the president of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Going back to the drawing board after the long-gestating effort to come to a deal on a new stadium was unthinkable, he said.

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Let’s get started. Explore all your options”I cannot believe we’re going to relitigate all the trauma we just went through, we’re going to redesign a deal that we all agreed to,” he said. 4:10: Public comment underwayWe’ve reached the stadium portion of the afternoon, and before voting, commissioners are hearing public comment.

For those who have followed the process, it’s a parade of familiar faces. Among the supporters was Pete Boland, the recent St. Petersburg City Council candidate and owner of the downtown restaurant and bar The Galley.

He argued that voting down the financing and letting the deal fall apart could open the county to legal action and let the Rays walk away with valuable real estate without the obligation to build a stadium. ”Hold them to this agreement,” he said. “Force them to take on these cost overruns and invest these billions of dollars for our beloved St.

Pete. ”Dylan Dames, an organizer with Faith in Florida, a progressive group that has long opposed the stadium deal, urged commissioners to vote down the financing, saying the plan doesn’t do enough for working people. And Ron Diner, a leader of the stadium opposition group No Home Run, beseeched commissioners to focus tourism funding on the beaches, the cornerstone of the county’s tourism.

“The hurricanes have changed everything,” he said. “Everyone knows that this deal is not a deal until all of the financing is in place. This is not the time for risky spending.

It’s time to focus on resilience and prioritize what benefits all citizens. ”3:40: Still waiting on the meat of the meetingMore than 90 minutes into the meeting, we still have scant mentions of the stadium saga. Commissioners have been talking through other subjects, such as post-hurricane damage assessments.

Those have been under the umbrella of County Administrator Barry Burton’s report, which usually comes toward the end of the meeting. They’ve just moved on, so we may be getting to the meat of the discussion soon. 2:05: Meeting begins with Rays, city officials in the audienceThe meeting is underway, with a few items to handle before the financing vote is scheduled.

It’s the first action as county commissioners for Chris Scherer and Vince Nowicki, who were elected to office earlier this month and sworn in last night. Both have been critical of the stadium deal, and they take the seats of staunch supporters — Scherer replaces Janet Long, who retired, and Nowicki defeated incumbent Charlie Justice. Also in the room are St.

Petersburg City Administrator Rob Gerdes, who led the city’s end of the stadium negotiations, and Rays presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman. In the letter to commissioners released earlier today, Auld and Silverman said they won’t speak during the meeting but will “listen carefully. ”This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.