Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pledged not to use state money for the construction of a new stadium for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.
WUSF reports DeSantis insisted the state would only provide financial input on infrastructure projects related to a potential new stadium, and only where it would be viewed as an appropriate expenditure.
“We are not taking your tax dollars to do any stadiums at the state level. (It’s) just not going to happen,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Apopka, adding, “We help with roads and exits and some stuff like that, but that’s the proper role of government. So, I think we’ll be helpful within the confines of what’s appropriate for taxpayers to be doing, but it will not involve, at our level, giving money for the construction of a stadium.”
DeSantis said he last spoke with MLB executive a “couple months” ago and warned them that having the Rays leave Florida would make “baseball look poorly – that they couldn’t hack it in really big markets. I think they understand that this is the fastest-growing state. It’s the third-largest state in the country. To have a major-league team leave, like, that’s not something we want, obviously, but actually (it) is bad for the league.”
The Rays are contracted to play in St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field ends through the 2028 season, although the team is currently playing at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field while repairs from Hurricane Milton’s damage to their home field’s roof are underway. Plans for the construction of a new $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg fell through earlier this year after the team cited extensive delays in the project that resulted in rising costs they could not cover.
DeSantis added he would not object if the team decided to move to another market in Florida.
“Obviously, the Tampa Bay area has had it for a long time, and I’ve told people – I’m not saying it should be in St. Pete, Tampa, Orlando, or any of that,” he continued. “If I can be helpful to keep it in Florida, then I’m going to do that.”
Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons
