{"id":260578,"date":"2026-05-06T13:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260578\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:16:20","slug":"rays-stadium-debate-heats-up-as-councilman-questions-citys-baseball-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260578\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays stadium debate heats up as councilman questions city’s baseball demand"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Rays continue trying to sell city leaders on a proposed move across the bay, one Tampa councilman is questioning whether the market is strong enough to justify a major public investment.<\/p>\n

During a Tampa City Council workshop on the proposed stadium and surrounding development, Councilman Charlie Miranda cast doubt on baseball\u2019s popularity in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball does not sell in the South,\u201d Miranda said. \u201cDon\u2019t believe me? Look at the attendance in St. Pete. Look at the attendance in Miami. And yes, look at the attendance in Tampa.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH: Rays stadium debate heats up as Tampa councilman questions city’s baseball demand<\/p>\n

Rays stadium debate heats up as councilman questions city’s baseball demand<\/p>\n

The Tuesday night workshop marked another step in ongoing negotiations between the Rays, the City of Tampa, and Hillsborough County over a proposed stadium deal that could eventually move the team from St. Petersburg to Tampa.<\/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. However, despite weeks of discussions, Rays CEO Ken Babby said a memorandum of understanding is still being negotiated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still actively negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with the city and the county,\u201d Babby said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Miranda and several community members also questioned whether public money should be spent on a stadium project while Tampa continues to face transportation and infrastructure challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur roads today? Nowhere near anything but poor. And you\u2019re asking me for money?\u201d Miranda said to the team\u2019s ownership. \u201cWhen you buy a team for $1.7 billion, you should have the assets to do other things with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others warned city leaders against moving too quickly before key financial details are finalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems like there\u2019s a lot of stuff being rushed through this,\u201d said Joe Greco, a member of the citizen-led Tampa Citizens Budget Advisory Board.<\/p>\n

Still, supporters argued that the project could help transform Tampa economically while keeping Major League Baseball in the region. Many of them showed up to the meeting in Rays attire.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople know the cost of everything but the value of nothing,” supporter Christopher Palermo said during public comment, primarily directing his remarks at Miranda. \u201cIf we lose this team, let\u2019s not forget one thing: this is a competition to be the preeminent city in Central Florida. Orlando wants what we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tampa City Council Chair Alan Clendenin struck a more cautious tone. In an interview, he said he believes a deal can still come together if taxpayers are protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s gotta be protections,\u201d Clendenin said. \u201cWe have to protect the taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, I like the concept,\u201d he continued. \u201cBaseball should be in Tampa. This will be a transformational project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rays say they hope to finalize a memorandum of understanding with the city and county sometime this month, though that timeline has been called into question<\/a>. Clendenin, however, believes a decision could still be made this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it can get done,\u201d he said. \u201cBased on my understanding of what\u2019s happening right now, I think we can reach a good deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Chad

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.
.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2 children, mother and grandmother killed; shooting investigation underway: Plant City police<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay 28 reporter Julie Salomone spoke to neighbors after Plant City police found two children, their mother and grandmother dead.<\/p>\n

2 kids, mother and grandmother killed; investigation underway: Plant City police<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Rays continue trying to sell city leaders on a proposed move…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[276,23181,29208,135,5910,108336,3670,112641,137,136,208],"class_list":["post-260578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-rays","tag-rays-stadium","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-28","tag-tampa-bay-28-news","tag-tampa-bay-local-news","tag-tampa-councilman","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-wfts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}