Second group says it’s ready to buy Tampa Bay Rays

One time aft a Tampa businessman confirmed helium is portion of a squad vying to acquisition the Tampa Bay Rays, a section lawyer said helium represents different radical of imaginable suitors.

Tampa lawyer Carter McCain said helium represents a radical with section number ownership involvement led by idiosyncratic who is well-respected wrong shot circles and successful the bureau of the Major League Baseball commissioner. However, helium said helium was incapable to disclose its members due to the fact that of ongoing conversations.

McCain said helium has not personally spoken with Rays proprietor Stu Sternberg oregon anyone other with the Rays, but said the individuals helium represents person had discussions with Major League Baseball. He said his radical would beryllium funny successful making a multi-billion dollar committedness with chiefly backstage funding.

“We’re anxious, person the capableness and look guardant to spot wherever it tin spell from here,” McCain said.

McCain disclosed the group‘s involvement Monday greeting connected the J.P. Peterson Show, a section sports speech podcast. McCain said his radical would beryllium funny successful gathering an amusement analyzable astir the caller stadium, but said it is not acceptable to accidental which region successful Tampa Bay it would beryllium located.

In a consequent interrogation with the Tampa Bay Times, McCain said his radical has made nary ceremonial offer.

He compared the group’s imaginativeness to the Sphere successful Las Vegas, imagining a ballpark surrounded by hotels, bureau abstraction and a standalone outdoor euphony venue arsenic a 24/7, 365-day amusement destination.

“We person the shot constituent wrong our group, but our larger concern radical is overmuch broader than that, and is in, you know, the large-scale amusement and hospitality business,” McCain said.

That makes 2 groups that are present publically funny successful buying the Rays. Tampa businessman Joe Molloy, a erstwhile New York Yankees enforcement who was a managing wide spouse for 2 years successful the 1990s, confirmed to the Times connected Sunday that helium is starring a Tampa-based radical seeking to bargain the Rays. He said the radical would prosecute the planned St. Petersburg stadium deal.

Molloy declined to sanction immoderate of the members of his group, saying each had signed non-disclosure agreements.

The Rays are connected a March 31 deadline to beryllium they person astatine slightest $700 cardinal and person done capable enactment to proceed with a stadium woody approved with votes and celebrated past July with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. After Hurricane Milton tore the extortion of Tropicana Field and elected officials delayed votes connected nationalist financing for the deal, the Rays said they could nary longer spend the accrued costs they accidental resulted and stopped each enactment connected the project.

The program to physique a $1.3 cardinal stadium and a larger redevelopment called the Historic Gas Plant District hinges connected whether Sternberg decides to determination forward.

Times unit writer Marc Topkin contributed to this report.

This is simply a processing story. Check backmost for updates.