The Tampa Bay Rays have formally closed the three-year negotiating window that was permitted by the team’s Memorandum of Understanding with the City of St. Petersburg (via the City Council), which allowed a stadium search in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
The letter is a formality of what has been already known; the Rays stadium search has concluded, and the team is likely to play out the lease on Tropicana Field through 2027.
The full text of the team’s letter is as follows:
Dear Mayor Kriseman:
This letter shall serve as the “Decision Notice” [as that term is definted in that certain Memorandum of Understanding between Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Ltd.