The Tampa Bay Rays rejected an offer from the city of St. Petersburg on Thursday that would have allowed the team to search for a new stadium site in Hillsborough County in exchange for an exit fee, Charlie Frago of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

According to Frago, the proposed plan would have required the team to pay $33 million if it left St. Petersburg in 2020, although the fee would have been cut in half if the club stayed in Pinellas County. If the team chose to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg, there would have been no fee.

Following the meeting between the team and the city, St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman's spokesman Ben Kirby handed out the following statement to reporters:

"Mayor Kriseman is disappointed but not surprised that the Tampa Bay Rays are not in agreement with City Council's proposal," the statement said. "The mayor will continue to work with the leadership of the Tampa Bay Rays and our City Council to find common ground and resolve this issue. Mayor Kriseman is dedicated to keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the city of St. Petersburg in the long term."

Rays president Brian Auld also issued a statement on the matter.

"Although we appreciate the time and attention that mayor Kriseman and the City Council have dedicated to this issue, we do not agree to this proposal," Auld said in the statement. "We remain open to pursuing a cooperative path forward."

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural season in 1998, although they've been looking to change locations for years. Frago notes that the Rays and St. Petersburg clashed on alternate stadium plans in 2010, and that two other proposals championed by Kriseman in the past year have been rejected by council members.