John Romano: Yes, the Rays need a new stadium. But that's only part of the story.

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on May 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — They have the governor and the mayor. Also, the chair of the Hillsborough County Commission.

They have the Legislature and the college president. And even the police and firefighter unions.

In less than a year on the job, the new owners of the Rays have acquired supporters for their stadium deal from politicians and community leaders who had previously been indifferent to the idea of building a ballpark. To the point where this week’s votes on a nonbinding memo of understanding seem to be foregone conclusions.

The Rays have effectively, and brilliantly, framed the stadium debate as an investment rather than an expenditure, and that has provided a pathway that never existed previously on the Tampa side of the bay. It’s almost as if the conversation has morphed from “Should we do this?” to “How do we do this?”

Okay, let’s talk about that.

With the county commission and city council set to vote on back-to-back days, there will be a celebratory atmosphere if we get the expected outcome. And that’s fine. It’s fine for Rays fans. It’s fine for team executives. On the other hand, it would not be a good look for elected officials.

Instead of waving pennants and pom-poms, they should be calling lawyers and urban planners. Because approval does not guarantee success. For every supporter of the Braves’ setup in Cobb County, there is a disgruntled taxpayer and bored ticket seller at the Marlins ballpark in Miami.

You need to do this correctly, or else you’re wasting taxpayer money and consigning the team to decades of underachievement.

So what does that mean?

Ensuring the surrounding development not only creates a solid tax base for local governments, but also attracts fans, consumers, tourists and businesses. And that means putting up some guardrails to make sure this mixed-use village has a greater purpose than simply making money for the Rays and developers.

Free market enthusiasts may argue that it’s best to let the corporate world do its thing with minimal government interference, but that ignores a very important component to this plan:

The public is a partner in this endeavor.

Not only is the city and county providing close to $1 billion in funds for the stadium construction, the state is handing over more than 100 acres of prime real estate and footing the bill for infrastructure and the rebuilding of the Hillsborough College campus.

That means ordinary citizens — via their representatives — should have some input over what that development looks like. And, at this point, there is very little detail other than vague promises of hotels, restaurants and high-end retail.

This isn’t a suggestion that the deal be micro-managed by bureaucrats. That’s not a recipe for success either.

But there is a difference between what could generate the most profits for the developers and what makes the most sense for the community.

And, make no mistake, the Rays are in this for the profits. And that’s not a bad thing. The whole idea of building a new stadium is to generate more revenues so the team can hold on to its best players and compete against big-market opponents. So bigger profits, theoretically, can be reinvested into a bigger payroll.

The problem is Rays owners took on a lot of debt to buy the club for $1.7 billion, and they’ll take on even more debt to pay their portion of a $2.3 billion stadium. All of which provides a tremendous incentive to maximize the returns on everything built around the stadium.

That’s where local leaders need to have a say.

When the previous ownership group was planning to redevelop the Tropicana Field site around a new stadium, they agreed to a certain amount of affordable housing, to acres of green space, to an African American museum and a concert venue.

Maybe that’s overkill, but the basic concept should not be ignored. The public has a financial interest in this massive redevelopment, and commissioners and council members cannot simply hand over the keys to a bulldozer while hoping for the best.

There will be a half-dozen or more detailed agreements drawn up in the coming weeks that will build upon the memo of understanding, and elected officials need to retain some control over what the next 30 years look like on this property.

This is a generational plan in the heart of the city. And while the Rays wield the ultimate hammer — they can pack up their team and move it elsewhere come 2029 — Tampa and Hillsborough County are not without leverage of their own. They’re paying for half the ballpark and surrendering valuable real estate.

And that means they should guarantee themselves a say in how this turns out.

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