TAMPA, Fla. — One day after Hillsborough County sent the Tampa Bay Rays a memo with a list of preliminary feedback and questions on a potential stadium deal, the team is responding.

What You Need To Know

Hillsborough County says it needs 60–90 more days beyond June 1 to work out a stadium deal

The Rays want at least a May vote on the MOU to keep a 2029 ballpark opening on track

Rays CEO Ken Babby says meetings with county and city leaders next week will focus on moving negotiations forward

A sticking point of the memo was the county’s hesitance to push a deal through by June 1, a timeline put in place by the Rays in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) released earlier this month.

The county’s memo states discussions would likely take at least another 60 to 90 days to work out the specifics after reaching a preliminary deal.

In response, the Rays state “maintaining momentum is essential to keeping the project on track to open for the 2029 season,” and are seeking at the least a vote on the MOU in May, “with the shared goal of completing the definitive agreements as soon as reasonably possible thereafter.”

The Rays’ response alludes that the ballpark’s construction timeline may not be disrupted if certain agreements are pushed beyond the June 1 timeline, but iterates that these agreements must come “as soon as possible.”

The county also asked for clarification that the MOU is non-binding, to which the Rays said it would revise language and added that “the intent is for this document serve as a meaningful framework to move forward on the definitive agreements.”

The Rays also say a budget shortfall of at least $75 million still needs to be rectified and discouraged the county from maintaining a finding that there may be an additional $60 million shortfall, which the Rays say was due to an “assumption” that Community Investment Tax (CIT) bonds would be taxable.

“The Rays believe the financing should be structured in a manner that preserves the ability for the CIT bonds to remain tax-exempt,” the team stated. “The Rays believe there is a viable framework to achieve that result, which would eliminate that additional $60 million shortfall, leaving the Parties to identify a path to bridge the pre-existing $75 million funding gap.”

Tampa Bay Rays CEO Ken Babby released a statement on the Rays’ response to the county on Friday, stating that the team will be meeting with Hillsborough and Tampa officials next week to “continue the conversation.”

“The responses to the list of questions provided by the County and City reflect our continued collaboration,” Babby said in a statement. “Our focus is on working through the process and exploring a path toward opening a new ballpark in Tampa Bay for the start of the 2029 season. We look forward to meeting with the County and City next week to continue the conversation and move discussions ahead in pursuit of a positive path forward.”

View the full document below (Rays responses are in red):