Tampa Bay Rays are expected to sell by September! And they will NOT move away!

the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays from Stu Sternberg to a Jacksonville developer whose name is Patrick Zelupsky. It’s happening. It got leaked to the Athletic. Now, we had read that there’s a $ 1.7 billion letter of intent. There’s an exclusive negotiating window happening. We read that, but what we found out yesterday is the deal is done. Now, a deal is never done until an owner gets approved by the other owners. A deal’s not done until their signatures, but this is about as close to done. It’s basically finished. What do you think about that, Montreal? It’s basically finished. And what it means is that Tampa’s not going anywhere. Just like Rob Manford promised Ronda Santis, just like Ronda Santis promised you, just like Stu Sternberg never wanted to have happen. Tampa is staying in Tampa. I think we all saw this coming. The hurricane was a blessing in disguise for Sternberg. Able to get out of the deal to build a stadium in St. Petersburg, which no one wanted. able to find a buyer at a price that is to die for if you are an owner of the Tampa Bay Rays. 1.7 billion enterprise value when the Baltimore freaking Orioles went for 1.73. Tip of the cap to you, David Rubenstein, for getting that price from the Angelosai. 1.7 is a very healthy price for the Tampa Bay Rays. But the reason why he’s getting it is because of the excitement, the thought, the dream. Oh my god, there’s a new stadium. That new stadium could be filled. It’s going to be in the Tampa area. Eore maybe. Eore. Maybe, maybe not. The mayor of Tampa already came out and said, “Oh, this is good. This feels like the it’s coming happening in Tampa. Feels like the team is staying. We have no done deal yet, but it looks good.” All of the people who would not help Stu Sternburg are now lining up to help this new owner. Have you ever heard the expression the devil? You know, how do you exactly know whether this guy Patrick is going to all of a sudden be Steven Conn of Tampa? How do you know what he’s willing to contribute in a ballpark and whether he’s got the money to actually with his housing business and with his partners to put money into a ballpark that’s a first class facility in Tampa? And when exactly is that going to open? Are you telling me that the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball don’t have to gravel back to St. Petersburg and beg them for an extra year at the Trop? How are you gonna open a ballpark there? Forget 28. How you going to open it in 29? Not happening. I don’t believe a new ballpark can open in Tampa until 2030. And if that’s the case, you’re going to be short a year. And believe me, they’re not playing in Stein Brener Field and they’re not playing in Sacramento. Right back at the Trop. That’s if the Trops fixed, which if you’re saying St. Petersburg, I’ll violate that lease. Screw it. I’m not going to put the Trop back in plane shape. If I want to spend that money on redevelopment, you want to sue me, sue me. Major League Baseball, great specific performance, you’re not going to get it. I am fascinated by what’s going to happen now in Tampa because so many people in that region and around baseball are all saying the same thing. Nailed it. We’re done with that issue. The problem is that we’ve been done with the temps issue 17 times before and we were never done with it. A change of ownership does not all the time lead to the panacea in the same way that a new stadium doesn’t either. It used to be the case. It used to be that when you got a new stadium, you were set to go. You had a ramp of five years that if you could win anytime within the 5 years, you could just live forever on sellouts, on people coming, the excitement of a new ballpark. Those days are over. And it’s not because we built in Little Havana. It’s not because any other reason. We’re not the cause of it. There are new stadiums everywhere that are simply not selling out. And then new stadiums become older stadiums and then nobody comes. This is common. We are announcing as an industry. That’s a dollar cocoa. They are announcing that as an industry that attendance is great. We’re going to be up. We’ve got records. But as you know from my previous conversations about attendance, that’s a whole lot of PR. Do you know that when you offer to buy the Tampa Bay Rays before the commissioner even allows you to go before a vote of the owners, you have to commit that you’re keeping the team in Tampa? Do you know that when you’re trying to buy a team, you have to submit a financial plan and a proforma that has to get approved by the commissioner’s office and then the executive council. Do you know that when you are a prospective owner of a team, you have to be looked at and your net worth is examined very carefully and if your net worth is based on there not being a housing crisis going forward, that’s taken into consideration. Do you know that before you buy a team that you’ve got to prove to the commissioner that your plan is not just your plan, but it’s baseball’s plan and that it’s a plan that can happen? I have a feeling there’s going to be a little more to this Ray story and we’re going to learn a little bit more about what plans good old Patrick has for the Tampa Bay Rays because it’s going to include Tampa. Orlando’s going to hang out there saying, “Wait a minute, we still want a team.” St. Peterberg is going to say, “Well, see you later. Why would he have to even treat you nicely? Goodbye.” I think there’s a little bit left here.

#baseball #tampa #MLB

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15 comments

  4. I'm not sure the Rays were ever going to leave the Tampa Bay region. Most of the relocation talks felt like a desire for wish fulfillment among people who had grown to dislike a "sports town" in a state that they already had a natural hatred for. Kinda like how people spent years and years wishcasting the Jaguars' departure from Jacksonville — incidentally where the would-be principal owner is based — only for the team to agree to stay put there for another 30 years.

    If you're a Rays fan, the mere fact that his name is not Stu Sternberg might be enough to get you on board.

  6. You seem really proud of stealing baseball from Montreal… and now we can watch those dismal Florida Franchises for another 20 years. Congratulations!

  8. MLB in Florida …..just a bad idea . Not sure why they keep trying to make it work . Easily 4-6 cities that make a lot more sense.

  9. I have to admit this one was hard to predict which city would get the new stadium. St. Pete did have a deal but Stu was bold enough to cancel it. A new stadium in St. Pete would have been ok, but Tampa is better.
    I never thought Orlando was going to work, that was always a pipe dream.

  14. Its awesome.. but.. I dont like them wasting money rebuilding the Trop but I hope answers will come. Yes the dream.. a new Downtown with maybe a Brightline station nearby?? and maybe owners and management not counting pennies and maybe pulling in some bigger names and retaining players!?

  15. Not one cent is raised for a stadium at this point in Tampa. No land deal is being negotiated. Hillsborough and Pinellas County fight like cats and dogs. All the stadium deals are dead as a doornail. Both counties seem ready to move on from MLB and use their public funds for anything other than an MLB stadium. Remember, Tampa has their awesome Super-Bowl hosting machine Raymond James stadium to take care of renovating so MLB is just not priority. The Rays need to move or they will be stuck in the Trop forever. I would suggest a city down the road where they don't have an NFL team….

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