Attorney John Morgan told WESH 2 that if the Tampa Bay Rays considered relocating to Orlando, he would step up to the plate.”I would never invest in a baseball team in Florida,” Morgan said, “except in Orlando.”Morgan said he has great admiration for the Rays’ success on the field, but he questions whether it’s viable for the team to stay in Tampa Bay.“My position is basically this,” Morgan said. “Tampa Bay really has the best baseball organization in baseball. I mean, they’re a half-game up over the Yankees. Look at the two payrolls, say no more. But they’re in a (position where) they’ve never really done well financially.”Morgan said he’s not closely watching the negotiations for a new ballpark in Tampa, but he believes Orlando is better suited to become the new home for the Rays.”This is a steal, too,” Morgan said. “I mean, if he bought this thing for like, $1.7 (billion), but if he brought it to Orlando, this thing can be like the Magic, could be a very valuable franchise.”Elected officials in Tampa have not yet approved the deal to build the new Rays ballpark on the Hillsborough College campus near Raymond James Stadium. Their proposal is for an indoor 31,000-seat ballpark to accompany new residential, retail and entertainment venues. The estimated price tag for the project is $2.3 billion and the Rays are seeking about $1 billion in public funding.”We literally don’t even know how they got to the $2.3 billion,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Josh Wostal told WESH 2.Wostal has publicly backed out of supporting the new Tampa ballpark over concerns about the use of taxpayer money. “It’s up to Pinellas County to keep them here,” Wostal said. “Our job in Hillsborough is to secure the Lightning and the Bucs.” Wostal said the team should try to stay in St. Petersburg after nearly $60 million in repairs were made to Tropicana Field following the damage from Hurricane Milton. The Rays announced Thursday they’ve reached a “memorandum of understanding” with Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa.“The Rays respectfully but resolutely encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a Forever Home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood that will be an inviting and inclusive destination to work, live, learn, and play,” the Rays said in a statement.As Rays fans await a decision on the Tampa ballpark, the co-founder of the Orlando Dreamers, Jim Schnorf, said, “We’re not going to any way meddle or interfere in what’s happening in other cities.”Schnorf is also the chief operating officer for the Dreamers. “We are prepared to do at least a 50-50 arrangement,” Schnorf said, “which should be the largest direct investment privately into a Major League Baseball venue in the history of the game.”The plan for Orlando baseball is still building a 45,000-seat domed stadium near Sea World and the Orange County Convention Center, Schnorf said.”We don’t need surrounding real estate development,” he said. “We’ve got 80 million tourists.”While Schnorf is confident Orlando is in the running for an expansion team at the end of the decade, Morgan said he doesn’t believe MLB, especially under its current commissioner, Rob Manfred, would support two teams in Central Florida. “Sure, but it’s not going to happen,” Morgan said. “I mean, I love Jim. You know, Major League Baseball. I mean, the die is cast there. It’s not coming.”According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays owners want votes cast in Hillsborough and Tampa “as close to June 1 as possible.”“Paramount for the Tampa Bay Rays in this process was to arrive at an MOU that protects all public funding currently allocated for police, fire, emergency management or response functions, or other previously committed public safety or service priorities,” the Rays’ statement said. “We have accomplished that important and unconditional goal. This is a rare and perhaps unprecedented moment for Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Rays are all in on this opportunity and look forward to working with officials in the days ahead to bring this project to life.”During his news conference in Titusville on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed other cities’ interest in hosting the Rays. “I know Orlando wants it,” DeSantis said. “They would plow a lot of money into this. There’s no question Orange County would. And Charlotte (North Carolina) would, too. Nashville would. I mean, there’s a lot of places around the country who would like to have a MLB franchise.”

ORLANDO, Fla. —

Attorney John Morgan told WESH 2 that if the Tampa Bay Rays considered relocating to Orlando, he would step up to the plate.

“I would never invest in a baseball team in Florida,” Morgan said, “except in Orlando.”

Morgan said he has great admiration for the Rays’ success on the field, but he questions whether it’s viable for the team to stay in Tampa Bay.

“My position is basically this,” Morgan said. “Tampa Bay really has the best baseball organization in baseball. I mean, they’re a half-game up over the Yankees. Look at the two payrolls, say no more. But they’re in a (position where) they’ve never really done well financially.”

Morgan said he’s not closely watching the negotiations for a new ballpark in Tampa, but he believes Orlando is better suited to become the new home for the Rays.

“This is a steal, too,” Morgan said. “I mean, if he bought this thing for like, $1.7 (billion), but if he brought it to Orlando, this thing can be like the Magic, could be a very valuable franchise.”

Elected officials in Tampa have not yet approved the deal to build the new Rays ballpark on the Hillsborough College campus near Raymond James Stadium.

Their proposal is for an indoor 31,000-seat ballpark to accompany new residential, retail and entertainment venues.

The estimated price tag for the project is $2.3 billion and the Rays are seeking about $1 billion in public funding.

“We literally don’t even know how they got to the $2.3 billion,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Josh Wostal told WESH 2.

Wostal has publicly backed out of supporting the new Tampa ballpark over concerns about the use of taxpayer money.

“It’s up to Pinellas County to keep them here,” Wostal said. “Our job in Hillsborough is to secure the Lightning and the Bucs.”

Wostal said the team should try to stay in St. Petersburg after nearly $60 million in repairs were made to Tropicana Field following the damage from Hurricane Milton.

The Rays announced Thursday they’ve reached a “memorandum of understanding” with Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa.

“The Rays respectfully but resolutely encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a Forever Home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood that will be an inviting and inclusive destination to work, live, learn, and play,” the Rays said in a statement.

As Rays fans await a decision on the Tampa ballpark, the co-founder of the Orlando Dreamers, Jim Schnorf, said, “We’re not going to any way meddle or interfere in what’s happening in other cities.”

Schnorf is also the chief operating officer for the Dreamers.

“We are prepared to do at least a 50-50 arrangement,” Schnorf said, “which should be the largest direct investment privately into a Major League Baseball venue in the history of the game.”

The plan for Orlando baseball is still building a 45,000-seat domed stadium near Sea World and the Orange County Convention Center, Schnorf said.

“We don’t need surrounding real estate development,” he said. “We’ve got 80 million tourists.”

While Schnorf is confident Orlando is in the running for an expansion team at the end of the decade, Morgan said he doesn’t believe MLB, especially under its current commissioner, Rob Manfred, would support two teams in Central Florida.

“Sure, but it’s not going to happen,” Morgan said. “I mean, I love Jim. You know, Major League Baseball. I mean, the die is cast there. It’s not coming.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays owners want votes cast in Hillsborough and Tampa “as close to June 1 as possible.”

“Paramount for the Tampa Bay Rays in this process was to arrive at an MOU that protects all public funding currently allocated for police, fire, emergency management or response functions, or other previously committed public safety or service priorities,” the Rays’ statement said. “We have accomplished that important and unconditional goal. This is a rare and perhaps unprecedented moment for Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Rays are all in on this opportunity and look forward to working with officials in the days ahead to bring this project to life.”

During his news conference in Titusville on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed other cities’ interest in hosting the Rays.

“I know Orlando wants it,” DeSantis said. “They would plow a lot of money into this. There’s no question Orange County would. And Charlotte (North Carolina) would, too. Nashville would. I mean, there’s a lot of places around the country who would like to have a MLB franchise.”