Because the Rays proceed to take care of the lasting affect of damages to Tropicana Subject throughout Hurricane Milton, proprietor Stu Sternberg introduced this morning that his membership will now not be shifting 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 recuperate from impacts of the hurricanes, we’re extremely grateful for the assist from our followers and the broader Tampa Bay neighborhood. … After cautious deliberation, we now have concluded that we can’t transfer ahead with the brand new ballpark and growth mission at this second. A collection of occasions starting in October that nobody might have anticipated led to this troublesome choice.
Our dedication to the vitality and success of the Rays group is unwavering. We proceed to deal with discovering a ballpark resolution that serves the perfect pursuits of our area, Main League Baseball and our group. The Metropolis of St. Petersburg is presently advancing plans to revive Tropicana Subject for the 2026 season. We’re grateful for his or her efforts and are excited to return to our dwelling subject subsequent spring.”
Main League Baseball issued the next assertion within the wake of the Rays’ announcement:
“Main League Baseball stays dedicated to discovering a everlasting dwelling for the Membership within the Tampa Bay area for his or her followers and the local people. Commissioner Manfred understands the frustration of the St. Petersburg neighborhood from right now’s announcement, however he’ll proceed to work with elected officers, neighborhood leaders, and Rays officers to safe the membership’s future within the Tampa Bay area.”
[Related: Rays Are “Not For Sale,” St. Petersburg Mayor Says “Bridge Has Been Burned”]
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 mission within the historic Gasoline Plant District web site close to the prevailing Tropicana Subject. 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. Town council and county fee nonetheless wanted to log out on the plan, and varied benchmarks wanted to be hit alongside the best way to make sure the stadium plans would stay on monitor.
Mom nature, after all, had different intentions. Hurricane Milton wrought immense injury on Tropicana Subject, leaving the Rays with out a place to play for not less than the 2025 season whereas they evaluated the price of repairing Tropicana Subject’s shredded roof. The Yankees agreed to permit the Rays to host their dwelling video games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Subject — 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 kind out logistical nightmare stemming from the hurricane damages, coupled with November election cycles that modified the composition of the boards set to approve the required bonds to maneuver ahead with the mission, 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 doable final result 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 strain from not solely different homeowners 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 deal with both remaining in St. Petersburg or establishing a brand new facility in Ybor Metropolis close to downtown Tampa — a location the Rays have beforehand explored. Orlando has additionally been talked about as a substitute, per Drellich.
At this juncture, the crew’s focus is clearly on returning to Tropicana Subject for the 2026 marketing campaign. That appears a short-term resolution, at finest, nevertheless. The Rays’ lease at their longtime dwelling initially ran by the 2027 season, although the expiration date was pushed again one season after the Rays had been rendered unable to play there in 2025.. The now-scrapped building of their new Gasoline Plant District dwelling was set to dovetail with the unique expiration of their lease at Tropicana Subject. Each Drellich and ESPN’s Jeff Passan have reported throughout the previous week that there are potential consumers lining up within the occasion the franchise is put up on the market, however Sternberg has prior to now made clear that he doesn’t intend to promote the membership.
“If it was (on the market), individuals would realize it,” Sternberg advised Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Occasions 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 sincere about them. And I’ve been.”
