The Tampa Bay Rays, silent since the St. Petersburg City Council made a new offer to their lease agreement, plan to speak to mayor Rick Kriseman Thursday.
Perhaps then, we will finally get an indication as to what the team thinks of the Council’s new deal.
According to the Tampa Tribune, Kriseman will meet with team president Brian Auld Thursday. The team has had no reaction to the Council’s offer, which would cost the Rays as much as $16 million more than a deal the team had previously reached with the mayor.
The Rays could reject the deal outright and choose to wait through the upcoming election. They were one council short before.
In a deal drawn up by councilman Jim Kennedy, the Rays would be responsible for a $5 million redevelopment fee for Tropicana Field and $4 million of each year the team has left on its lease. Kriseman had wondered if the Rays would pay more, and thought the council deal might complicate talks.
This was another bad year at the gate for the Rays, who finished last for fourth straight year. This year’s attendance of 1.2 million was down from 1.4 million in the previous season.
