Ken Babby

Mayor Jane Castor says she expects the city council and county commission to pass the non-binding agreement, allowing negotiators to fill in the blanks on multiple documents in the complex deal.

The billionaire attorney calls Rays managing partner Patrick Zalupski a friend with whom he's had regular contact. The Rays, however, have an agreement to negotiate stadium plans only with Tampa and Hillsborough.

During a nearly four-hour meeting, councilors heard their first presentation on the stadium from Rays CEO Ken Babby, learned more about what public funding would be required and listened to dozens of citizens.

Joshua Wostal tells WDAE the county is investigating nearly 3,000 emails sent to commissioners from one IP address in Los Angeles. He also questions whether the Rays have the financing to avoid taxpayer risk.

The Battery Atlanta's mixed-use development hasn’t been able to pay off Cobb County's $300 million subsidy, casting doubt on the Rays' similar strategy to cover a billion-dollar ask of taxpayers, writes an economist and lifelong Braves fan.

Despite a Rays warning that changing the timeline would jeopardize the project, the team says it's working "diligently" on a response to the county's list of 14 unresolved conditions.

The county commission also received the requested outside legal opinion on whether it could use the Community Investment Tax to help fund the stadium.

The proposal comes after weeks of negotiations with local officials but has not been vetted by public boards. It lays out ambitious economic projections to recoup the upfront investment.

The stadium, ridiculed as MLB’s worst venue, is open again after being damaged by Hurricane Milton, and players and fans can’t wait to get indoors. A sellout crowd is set for the home opener against the Cubs.