MLB Tampa owner being pressured to sell team

[LadyStanley]

Rays owner reportedly being ‘pressured’ to sell team by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, other owners

A sale is not imminent, but there are apparently several people in the league trying to convince Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays.

sports.yahoo.com

Sternberg first purchased the Rays for about $200 million in 2004. They were last valued at about $1.25 billion by Forbes last March, which is one of the lowest in the league.

Not clear whonall/how hard pressure is being applied.

 

[hangman005]

 

[BoatsandBolts]

The Tampa Bay Times has identified at least two groups who have declared interest in purchasing the Rays over the last 24 hours. Links are likely behind a paywall for most, but I would imagine other outlets will start picking up on this as we approach the deadline for Stu's group to pony up and show they have the resources to complete their end of the deal.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/ray...-interested-buying-rays-keeping-them-st-pete/

https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-pe...cond-group-says-its-ready-buy-tampa-bay-rays/

 

[KevFu]

I don't understand what the (very dumb) MLB commissioner thinks would be different with a new owner.

There's no stadium deal "done" because the city/county delayed the funding of the previously done deal.

The Rays current lease says the team owes the city another year in the Trop because they're not playing there in 2025, so now their lease is up after 2028 instead...

And the Rays saying "But that costs us like $500 million, because YOU delayed the funding." The done deal says the Rays pay for overruns, but delaying the funding has them 7 months behind schedule so there's gonna be like $250m or so in overruns; and then they'll make 2028 Tropicana revenue instead of 2028 New Stadium revenue.

And that's after they've got to pay $25m to upgrade Steinbrenner and make about $50-$100m less playing there in 2025.


The idea is that a new owner is going to view eating an extra $500m as just "the cost of buying in" ???