Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said her frustration over last week’s city council votes tied to a proposed Tampa Bay Rays stadium had little to do with political sparring and everything to do with actions she believed threatened the city’s role in negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no infighting. If there’s any kind of fighting, that’s a one-way deal,” Castor told podcast host J.P. Peterson on Monday. \u201cI often joke that I’m probably the least political politician that you’ll ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castor, speaking during a fishing vacation in the Keys, sounded far less annoyed that she appeared in a harsh social media post Friday, when she contended some council members \u201cwere clearly intent on killing the plan before negotiations are done.\u201d<\/p>\n
At stake is the city’s role in the $2.3 billion ballpark and surrounding $8 billion privately funded mixed-use district, slated for Drew Park land now used by Hillsborough College.<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s staff has represented the city in talks with Hillsborough County on a nonbinding memorandum of understanding<\/a> covering $976 million for the stadium project.<\/p>\n It’s beyond frustrating that as city and county leaders are working tirelessly to hammer out an equitable deal to bring the Rays to Tampa, City Council members want to halt our efforts in their tracks.https:\/\/t.co\/66t1m66lA5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jane Castor (@JaneCastor) July 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Castor explained that her rare rebuke centered on two actions she believed sent the wrong message to the county and Rays.<\/p>\n The first removed a vote from the Community Redevelopment Agency\u2019s Aug. 20 meeting on the MOU, which includes investing $100 million in property tax growth from the Drew Park CRA. The second rejected a routine transfer of land-use changes for the site to the state for review.<\/p>\n ALSO READ: Two city council decisions cloud Tampa’s role in Rays’ ballpark proposal<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cNonbinding means we just want you to agree to further investigate and deliberate on the proposals. And to have council members vote no on that \u2013 basically saying we don’t want to hear about any deal that is put together to keep the Rays in Tampa \u2013 is frustrating,\u201d Castor said.<\/p>\n Castor viewed both votes as part of the normal vetting process rather than decisions committing the city to the project.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean that (land-use) vote was to say we want to send it to the state, and then they will weigh in and then they’ll send it back to us. So, to vote no straight out of the gate before we can even get a deal done, that’s where my frustration comes in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In response to Castor\u2019s social media criticism, Councilman Bill Carlson posted a series of tweets <\/a>blaming the mayor and her administration for the setbacks. For months, he has demanded that council members get more input in the talks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a couple of council members said they’ve got no issue,\u201d said Castor, adding that the city\u2019s negotiators have been available to them \u201cat every turn.\u201d Among them are council Chair Alan Clendenin, who posted reasons he supports the project in a lengthy Facebook post Monday. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Rays talk to them on a regular basis,” Castor said. “So, I don’t know where that, \u2018We don’t know what’s going on\u2019 is coming from other than \u2026 political motivation. But that’s just not me. I don’t get involved in that.”<\/p>\n Castor explained that the divide was largely a product of the city\u2019s strong mayor form of government.<\/p>\n