Professional sports leagues rarely force owners to sell their clubs unless they are financially unstable, there has been misconduct, or the owners’ actions are deemed detrimental to the league. In a unique set of circumstances, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg has been under intense pressure by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and other team owners to sell his club.
The pressure to sell comes after the team continues its decades-long search for a location to build a new stadium.[1] Sternberg is now working with the city of St. Petersburg to build a reported $1.3 billion stadium after their current stadium, Tropicana Field, was destroyed by Hurricane Milton last year. While this is a positive development, the league and multiple owners are up in arms because the team has to play the 2025 season at the New York Yankees’ minor league complex.[2] Additionally, many around the league are skeptical of the Rays’ intentions surrounding their new stadium. Several key dates are rapidly approaching that will allow the deal for the new stadium in St. Petersburg to go forward, but, the Rays have not given any signal about what they are going to do.[3]
If things do not stay on course, Major League Baseball could step in to give the Rays a reason to sell by changing how much money the team gets from different sources, including revenue sharing.[4]
Facility issues have played a big role in the forced sale of teams across professional sports. In April of last year, the NHL forced the Phoenix Coyotes to sell and relocate to Utah. The sale came after years of financial instability and facilities that were not up to NHL standards. The final straw for the team’s tenure in Phoenix came in 2021, when the city of Glendale and the Gila River Arena decided not to renew their operating agreement with the team beyond the 2021-22 season.[5] This decision sent the franchise scrambling to find a new home.
The team temporarily played at Mullet Arena, which is the home of the Arizona State Sun Devils Men’s Hockey team. While the team spent more than $20 million to upgrade the building to NHL standards, their continued financial instability, failure to get a deal done for a new arena, and distrust in ownership ultimately led to the sale of the team.
While the situation down in Tampa Bay is like that of the Coyotes with respect to facility issues, it is unlikely that the team will sell. However, the MLB does reportedly want the Rays to move out of the Tampa Bay area, whether that is under current ownership or a new ownership group.[6]Although there is a lot up in the air as a new season gets underway, it appears that Sternberg will remain under control of the team unless (until?) the current stadium deal falls apart.[7]
Image Credit: https://smokynow.com/tampa-bays-rays-hot-season-continues/
[1] https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/rays-owner-reportedly-being-pressured-to-sell-team-by-mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-other-team-owners-014720314.html
[2] Id.
[3] https://www.abcactionnews.com/sports/baseball/rays/mlb-and-other-owners-pressuring-rays-owner-stu-sternberg-to-sell-the-team
[4] Id.
[5] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40024660/inside-coyotes-stunning-move-arizona-utah
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
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