Because the Rays proceed to cope with the lasting affect of damages to Tropicana Discipline throughout Hurricane Milton, proprietor Stu Sternberg introduced this morning that his membership will not be transferring ahead with the earlier tentative plans to assemble a brand new ballpark in St. Petersburg. The crew’s assertion reads as follows:
“As all of us get well from impacts of the hurricanes, we’re extremely grateful for the assist from our followers and the broader Tampa Bay group. … After cautious deliberation, we’ve got concluded that we can’t transfer ahead with the brand new ballpark and growth undertaking at this second. A sequence of occasions starting in October that nobody may have anticipated led to this troublesome resolution.
Our dedication to the vitality and success of the Rays group is unwavering. We proceed to give attention to discovering a ballpark answer that serves the very best pursuits of our area, Main League Baseball and our group. The Metropolis of St. Petersburg is at present advancing plans to revive Tropicana Discipline for the 2026 season. We’re grateful for his or her efforts and are excited to return to our dwelling subject subsequent spring.”
Final summer season, the Rays reached a tentative settlement to assemble a brand new $1.3 billion stadium — half of a bigger $6.5 billion redevelopment undertaking within the historic Fuel Plant District website close to the prevailing Tropicana Discipline. The closed-roof, 30,000-seat stadium was set to open in 2028, and the event plan had been agreed upon by the Rays, Pinellas County and the Metropolis of St. Petersburg. The town council and county fee nonetheless wanted to log out on the plan, and numerous benchmarks wanted to be hit alongside the best way to make sure the stadium plans would stay on observe.
Mom nature, in fact, had different intentions. Hurricane Milton wrought immense harm on Tropicana Discipline, leaving the Rays with out a place to play for a minimum of the 2025 season whereas they evaluated the price of repairing Tropicana Discipline’s shredded roof. The Yankees agreed to permit the Rays to host their dwelling video games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Discipline — dwelling of the crew’s Class-A affiliate — for the upcoming 2025 marketing campaign. That plan stays in place.
Even a short-term transfer to a location outdoors of Pinellas County rankled some on the county fee, nevertheless. The time wanted to type out logistical nightmare stemming from the hurricane damages, coupled with November election cycles that modified the composition of the boards set to approve the mandatory bonds to maneuver ahead with the undertaking, led to delays in what was already a tightly scheduled growth plan for the brand new facility. These delays additionally finally led to a contentious back-and-forth between the Rays (Sternberg and president Matt Silverman) and Pinellas County that has performed out over the offseason. Sternberg acknowledged again in November that relocation was a potential consequence in mild of renewed squabbles with native authorities.
The abandonment of the exiting plan for the 2028 stadium and surrounding growth comes in opposition to the newer backdrop of reported stress from not solely different house owners but in addition MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for Sternberg to promote the franchise. Evan Drellich of The Athletic wrote over the weekend that Main League Baseball hopes to maintain the Rays in Florida, with a give attention to both remaining in St. Petersburg or developing a brand new facility in Ybor Metropolis close to downtown Tampa — a location the Rays have beforehand explored. Orlando has additionally been talked about instead, per Drellich.
At this juncture, the crew’s focus is clearly on returning to Tropicana Discipline for the 2026 marketing campaign. That appears a short-term answer, at finest, nevertheless. The Rays’ lease at their longtime dwelling solely runs by means of the 2027 season. The now-scrapped building of their new Fuel Plant District dwelling was set to dovetail with the expiration of their lease at Tropicana Discipline. Each Drellich and ESPN’s Jeff Passan have reported inside the previous week that there are potential patrons lining up within the occasion the franchise is put up on the market, however Sternberg has up to now made clear that he doesn’t intend to promote the membership.
“If it was (on the market), individuals would comprehend it,” Sternberg informed Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Instances final month. “I’ve all the time been, and I’ll proceed to be, fairly clear about our intentions. And fairly — not fairly — however very trustworthy about them. And I’ve been.”
