Report by Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY: The Rays on Thursday announced they would not fulfill their financial commitment to a $1.3 billion stadium project and development deal with the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, putting the franchise on the clock with just two years before their commitment to the region ends.

After years of negotiations, The Rays have declined to commit to returning Tampa or St. Petersburg, Florida, next season.

MEET THE (ORLANDO) DREAMERS

While the Rays and Tampa seem to have unreconcilable differences, a group of influential investors in Orlando have jumped at the opportunity to pitch the area as an attractive home for a hypothetically displaced baseball franchise. This comes as Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in October last year.

Major League Baseball hall of famer Barry Larkin has explained why the relocation would make sense for the MLB:

“Orlando is stable.”

Now, the Orlando Dreamers have confirmed two key pieces: an anchor investor, and some financial frameworks for the construction of a brand new baseball stadium, somewhere in Orange County, Florida.