ST. PETERSBURG -- Mayor Rick Kriseman says talks about the Rays setting up a "part time" shared season between St. Petersburg and Montreal are over.
Kriseman said both parties agreed to abide by the contract that keeps the team at Tropicana Field through 2027. Kriseman says split-seasons are not possible before 2028.
The mayor says he also offered to renew a window allowing the rays to look elsewhere in the Tampa Bay area, and was refused.
Kriseman says with no agreement on a new stadium, the city will begin to evaluate redevelopment for at least parts of the Tropicana site.
UPDATE 5:50 PM: The Rays have responded with their own statement to Kriseman's comments, saying it does not agree that this is the best path forward, and that they asked to explore splitting the season with both St. Petersburg-Montreal and Tampa-Montreal. e do not agree that this is the best path forward. Second, we asked for the opportunity to explore this concept with both St. Petersburg and Montreal, and with Tampa and Montreal. The team says it still thinks the split-city concept is worthy of consideration, but says it "must now consider our post-2027 options and all that entails."
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