Rays president Matt Silverman: Team is 'not for sale'

The Rays announced Thursday morning that they will not proceed with the plan to construct a $1.3B stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. The organization has telegraphed that decision for months. 

The Rays maintain that a delay in approval for public funding from the city and Pinellas County in the wake of the hurricanes has contributed to untenable cost overruns — which were to be the team’s responsibility under the initial plan.

Unsurprisingly, that decision has further strained an already tense relationship between the team and local officials. St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch told reporters he “(has) no interest in working with this ownership group,” adding that the “bridge has been burned” (via Colleen Wright of The Tampa Bay Times). 

County commissioner Chris Latvala also called for owner Stu Sternberg to sell the franchise. 

“I think the best way to keep baseball in Tampa Bay is for Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays,” he said (via Sam Blum of The Athletic). “This was probably one of the best stadium deals that an owner has ever received in professional sports, and it wasn’t good enough for Stu Sternberg.”

This all comes a few days after The Athletic reported that commissioner Rob Manfred and various owners have privately urged Sternberg to sell. Team president Matt Silverman reiterated that’s not currently on the table. 

“The team is not for sale,” Silverman told Tom Krasniqi of 95.3 FM in Tampa Bay. 

Asked about the report that Sternberg was under pressure from the league, the team president acknowledged “the other owners aren’t happy with where our revenues are” but implied that proceeding with the stadium deal would have been “a mistake that (results) in us continuing to be an outlier and not being able to generate the necessary revenues to be a full-fledged member of Major League Baseball.”

That aligns with Sternberg’s previous comments. “If it was (for sale), people would know it,” the owner told The Tampa Bay Times last month. “I’ve always been, and I will continue to be, pretty transparent about our intentions. And pretty — not pretty — but very honest about them. And I have been.”

In December, the Rays said in a statement that they wanted to renegotiate with the city and county to “solve this funding gap together.” Local officials have maintained they will not approve more public funding. 

Welch stated Thursday afternoon that St. Petersburg is through working with Sternberg’s ownership group. Silverman, in line with the Rays’ previous comments, said the team is interested in continuing discussions on a new deal (presumably with more public money).

“It doesn’t change our devotion to the Tampa Bay area. It doesn’t change our desire to figure something out. It just means this specific project on this specific timeline isn’t going to happen,” he told Krasniqi. He added that the Rays “will continue to look to the city and the county for those conversations and see how we can reengage and see if there’s a solution here because we were close.”

Additionally, it seems they’ll try to initiate new discussions with the City of Tampa, which is located in Hillsborough County. 

“I think we will because we have to look at all possibilities within our region to figure out an answer,” Silverman said. “We haven’t had any conversations with anyone on the Tampa/Hillsborough side. We can’t until after March 31 (the official expiration date of the St. Petersburg deal).”

Tampa mayor Jane Castor released a statement to The Tampa Bay Times that expressed openness to conversations:

“I am disappointed to hear that the Rays don’t intend to follow through with stadium plans in St. Petersburg. The goal always has been to keep the team in Tampa Bay. The City, Tampa Sports Authority and County are happy to speak with the team once again, but any proposal will have to make sense for our taxpayers and community.”

With the St. Petersburg deal falling apart, there’ll be speculation from outside the organization about relocation. MLB said Thursday afternoon that the league remains committed to the region. The Rays would need to get approval from the league to explore opportunities outside the Tampa Bay area.

The Rays will play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field. They’re hoping to return to Tropicana Field for the 2026-28 seasons. The team’s lease at the Trop initially ran through ’27 but was pushed back a year with the team not playing there this season. St. Petersburg is responsible for repairing the damage to the Trop, which will reportedly cost around $55.7M.