Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The owner of the Tampa Bay Rays is being pressured to sell the team by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, as well as other team owners, according to a new report. The team is currently embroiled in a standoff over a stadium deal with the city of St. Petersburg.
Last month, St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch said the city is prepared to move on without the Tampa Bay Rays if the proposed $1.3 billion stadium and mixed-use development deal falls through. The Rays have until March 31 to meet a checklist of obligations that would unlock public funding for the project, but Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg still hasn’t decided what the team will do.
Now, according to The Athletic, people briefed on the ownership-level conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly are saying the Major League Baseball is pushing for Sternberg to sell the team.
Among the potential bidders for the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the sources, is a group involving the family of Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, and New York Yankees minority owner Joe Molloy. Tampa businessman Dan Doyle Jr., who was part of a previous attempt to purchase the Rays in 2023, is also a possibility.
“If Stu walks away from this deal, I think the owners and Major League Baseball will see that he either has an unwillingness to do a new stadium in Tampa Bay, or he has a financial issue that prevents him from doing a new stadium in Tampa Bay and there needs to be an ownership change,” said Chris Latvala, a commissioner in Florida’s Pinellas County. “I do believe that we’ll have new ownership with the Rays at some point in the near future.”
The good news, at least for Tampa Bay Rays fans, is that Major League Baseball is reportedly not interested in moving the team out of the area. If the deal in St. Pete falls through, the Ybor City neighborhood near downtown Tampa has been mentioned as another possible location for a new stadium. MLB also doesn’t want to give any potential expansion cities like Nashville, Portland, or Salt Lake City.
Should Stuart Sternberg decide to or be forced to sell the Rays, he will get a healthy return on his investment. He bought team for $200 million in 2004 and it is now estimated to be worth $1.25 billion.