ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Rick Kriseman and Tampa Bay Rays officials will resume talks Thursday afternoon, their first meeting since the City Council approved a proposal that would require the team to pay more to break its contract to play at Tropicana Field through 2027.
Kriseman is scheduled to meet at Tropicana Field with Rays President Brian Auld. The meeting may provide the first indication of whether the Rays will accept a deal drawn up by Councilman Jim Kennedy costing them about $13 million more than one they reached with the mayor in 2014. Kennedy’s plan, which council members approved in a 5-3 vote last week, would require the Rays to pay a $5 million redevelopment fee for the Trop site and $4 million for each unfulfilled year of the contract.