WATCH: Billionaire John Morgan says he\u2019d help bring Rays to Orlando if Tampa deal falls apart<\/p>\n
Billionaire John Morgan says he\u2019d help bring Rays to Orlando if Tampa deal falls apart<\/p>\n
\u201cI would still put my money up for baseball, but only in Orlando,\u201d Morgan said.<\/p>\n
Morgan also suggested Tampa may struggle to secure enough political support to finalize a stadium agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily a lock,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have the votes over there. And the Lightning want stuff. The Bucs want stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments come as Tampa and Hillsborough County continue negotiating a proposed stadium and mixed-use development project near Dale Mabry Highway that would require significant public funding.<\/p>\n
The project has sparked growing debate among local leaders.<\/p>\n
During a recent Tampa City Council workshop, some questioned whether public money should <\/a>be spent on a stadium project<\/a>\u00a0while the city continues to face transportation and infrastructure challenges.<\/p>\n The broader proposal is expected to require roughly $1 billion in public funding, including about $251 million from the City of Tampa alone.<\/p>\n Tampa Councilman Charlie Miranda was among those to express skepticism.<\/p>\n \u201cOur roads today? Nowhere near anything but poor,\u201d Miranda said during the workshop.<\/p>\n Still, supporters of the project argue the development could create jobs, generate long-term tax revenue, and help secure the Rays\u2019 future in Tampa.<\/p>\n Rays season ticket holder Johnathan Butler urged local leaders not to miss what he called a rare opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis opportunity does not come along very often at all. This is it,\u201d Butler said. \u201cIf we have this revenue source that can create jobs and create opportunities, it can fill potholes. It can help repave streets.\u201d<\/p>\n Butler also warned that Orlando remains a legitimate threat if negotiations in Tampa fail. However, he still likes Tampa\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the county commission and the city council will come together and they will realize that this is the best, as a Rays season ticket member \u2014 this is the best for the long-term of the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Rays have repeatedly said their focus remains on negotiations with Tampa and Hillsborough County. However, in April, the team acknowledged that it would have to \u201cevaluate alternatives\u201d if a deal could not be reached.<\/p>\n During the workshop last week, Rays CEO Ken Babby said a memorandum of understanding is still being negotiated. However, the team is still hopeful for a decision before June 1.<\/p>\n Share Your Story with Chad St. Leo residents fight proposed 628-home development on Abbey Golf Course<\/p>\n Rezoning vote expected to draw a large crowd as neighbors raise concerns about traffic, growth, and the loss of green space.<\/p>\n St. Leo residents fight proposed 628-home development on Abbey Golf Course property<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 As Tampa and Hillsborough County continue negotiating a proposed stadium deal for the Tampa Bay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5105],"tags":[15479,5,64162,64163,189,64164,64165,18215,4,1247,22274,64166,540,32946,92,5168,5167],"class_list":{"0":"post-573657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-lightning","8":"tag-hillsborough-county","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-john-morgan","11":"tag-ken-babby","12":"tag-lightning","13":"tag-mixed-use-development","14":"tag-morgan-morgan","15":"tag-negotiations","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-orlando","18":"tag-patrick-zalupski","19":"tag-stadium-deal","20":"tag-tampa-bay","21":"tag-tampa-bay-28","22":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","23":"tag-tampabay","24":"tag-tampabaylightning"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116565616434546815","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ChadMills.png\"\/)
Chad Mills calls Polk County home and has witnessed the area\u2019s growth firsthand. He is focused on sharing stories from his neighbors in Lakeland. You can use the form below to connect with Chad.
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