As an MLB team with significant short and long term stadium issues and the third-lowest attendance numbers last season, it wouldn’t be surprising if owner Stu Sternberg wasn’t overly attached to his Tampa Bay Rays. Or at least that’s what Rob Manfred is hoping.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, Manfred and some other team owners are pressuring Sternberg to sell the Rays.
The family of Edward DeBartolo — some of whom own the San Francisco 49ers — as well as Yankees minority owner Joe Molloy and Tampa businessman Dan Doyle Jr. are among the parties interested, according to Drellich.
The Rays have dealt with a wide array of issues regarding both their current and future home this off-season. First the devastation of Hurricane Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field in October, forcing the Rays to move to the New York Yankees’ spring training home in Tampa for the 2025 season.
Then the team spent the following months mired in negotiations around getting approval and funding for a long overdue new stadium. The Pinellas County Commission ultimately voted in favour of its share of financing for a new $1.3 billion ballpark that would keep the Rays in St. Petersburg. The Rays agreed to pay $700 million of the new stadium costs but are now arguing that delays in the process have pushed the budget higher and that both sides should contribute to cover the overages.
Throughout this process Sternberg has reportedly been courting minority investors. The Rays have been pursuing a new home for 17 years, ever since the 2008 proposal for “Rays Ballpark” to occupy the location of Al Lang Stadium on the Tampa Bay waterfront. It now appears that the message from the league is to either build or sell. There are several obligations that Sternberg must meet by March 31 in order for the current plans for a new park to go forward.
The expiration of MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement will also impact the Rays. At that point, the league and players association would be able to implement measures that either decrease or put conditions on the revenue sharing the Rays receive as a non-competitive balance tax paying team. Drellich reports the team receives around $60 million through revenue sharing each year.
If the Rays are sold, Drellich adds, MLB will push to keep the team in Florida either in St. Petersburg, nearby Tampa Bay or possibly even Orlando.
