ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — For months, the Tampa Bay Rays celebrated the signing of a deal between their group, the city of St. Petersburg, and the Pinellas County Commission.
Now, with the election of new members to the Pinellas County Commission it appears that the deal, as it stands now, could be crumbling.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan has been working for years to bring the team to Tampa and says it still remains a possibility if the deal in Pinellas officially falls through.
“As I’ve said before, we are going to respect the process. We are not going to interfere with anything going on in St. Pete and Pinellas County. Should things officially terminate, then we’ll be prepared to have that conversation at that time,” said Hagan.
He says a deal to bring the Rays to Tampa could be good, both for taxpayers here and the team in the long run.
“First and foremost, I’ve always stated we are going to protect the taxpayers and our model had very little upfront money. It was based on the growth that would occur because of the ballpark and it required the team to put more of the upfront money and assume more of the risks,” said Hagan.
Not everyone is in favor of the plan. Fellow Republican and Hillsborough County Commissioner Joshua Wostal is opposed.
“They are hard at work to try and put together these economic impact statements to try and justify taking more of your hardworking money to subsidize these billionaires,” said Wostal.
Hagan still believes a deal in Hillsborough County can be worked out if a deal to keep the team in Pinellas County fails.
“We outlined a financial model, a financial structure for the team, that would actually be more beneficial to the team, but over the long term,” said Hagan.
He says the land in Ybor City that had been set aside for a new stadium could still be developed for that purpose.
“Well, that’s the first phone call I made when things started falling apart in Pinellas County. The short answer is yes, the land is available,” said Hagan.