The Rays will play their 2025 home games at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field — the Yankees’ spring training home — in the wake of damage wreaked on Tropicana Field by Hurricane Milton. There’s been an ongoing debate about whether “the Trop” will be repaired in the interim, as the current site was planned to be the site of a new Rays stadium set to open in 2028. Recent events have put that 2028 deal in jeopardy, John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times reports, and Rays owner Stu Sternberg is again referencing relocation as a possible outcome.
As Romano outlines, Hurricane Milton and the ensuing damage prompted the city council and county commission to postpone scheduled bond votes that were key to securing financing for the redevelopment plan. Those delays pushed the vote back by one month, but in doing so pushed them back beyond the November election, meaning the very composition of the boards who are voting on the requisite bonds has changed. Romano adds that the timeline to break ground in 2025 was already “tight” and carried “very little wiggle room.”
“Last month, the County Commission upended our ballpark agreement by not approving their bonds, as they promised to do,” Sternberg told the Times. “That action sent a clear message that we had lost the county as a partner. The future of baseball in Tampa Bay became less certain after that vote.”
Sternberg pledged to “exhaust all [options]” to keep the Rays in the area but eventually conceded that relocation is “not an unlikely conclusion.” Pinellas County commissioner Chris Latvala, per ABC Action News’ Chad Mills, recently blasted the team for committing to play the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field rather than a facility located within Pinellas County, such as Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark (the spring home of the Phillies). Clearwater mayor Bruce Rector offered similar criticism to Romano.
Romano points out that Steinbrenner Field has a larger capacity and much more recently upgraded facilities, setting the stage for a smoother transition and lesser revenue losses. Latvala and Rector contend that Pinellas County taxpayers are committing $1 billion in public funding, and thus the Rays should have felt obligated to play their games at a stadium within Pinellas County, rather than nearby Hillsborough County, where Steinbrenner Field is located.
There’s no indication that the Pinellas County Commission will now vote against the previously approved bonds, but Latvala didn’t sound particularly motivated to speed the process along, regardless of the redevelopment’s tight timeline: “If we want to take our time, we can take our time,” he told Romano. “…I don’t think we should be rushed. And if the bonds fall through, so be it.”
It’s possible the delays could already be enough to push back breaking of ground and delay the stadium’s readiness into 2029. That could come with increased construction costs, which Romano speculates could put the Rays on the hook for more than $100MM in additional expenses — all at a time when they’ll be taking in reduced revenues from 2025-28 due to playing games at a smaller site. That will also play a major role in the team’s decision on whether to remain in Florida or more aggressively pursue a relocation bid.
cr4
Just do whatever it takes to get out of St Pete at this point
Fever Pitch Guy
cr – I think that’s what Stu has wanted all along. Move to another city in another state where they are so starved for MLB that they will accept the Cheap Rays way of doing business.
Two things in the above article I don’t quite understand:
“There’s no indication that the Pinellas County Commission will now vote against the previously approved bonds”
Six days ago I posted about the two newly elected county commissioners. Originally the commission voted 5-2 to pass the funding. But the newly elected county commissioners (Vince Nowicki and Chris Scherer) are both against the funding, and both replacing commissioners who support the funding. If they vote that way, it fails to pass.
Same thing with the city council, which originally approved the funding by a 5-3 vote. Two new councilmen, Mike Harting and Corey Givens, won’t be sworn in until 2025 but both have criticized the funding.
And as for “It’s possible the delays could already be enough to push back breaking of ground and delay the stadium’s readiness into 2029” I had also posted that 6 days ago, primarily because with the new stadium location being so close to The Trop it would be virtually impossible to have the new construction going on at the same time The Trop is being repaired.
And Marc all but confirming the new stadium deal is dead.
twitter.com/user/status/1857761493183287446
Let’s face it, the timing couldn’t be any worse for a new stadium in the Tampa/St Pete area. So much damage and devastation from Milton, the beaches in bad shape too. Taxpayers most of whom don’t attend Rays games want their money spent on more critical needs.
Pads Fans
Here is the actual article from Romano. Same one Steve is quoting.
tampabay.com/sports/2024/11/16/rays-stadium-deal-b…
Fever Pitch Guy
Pads – Thanks, yeah I saw that one Saturday. Glad it’s finally being discussed here because IMO it’s really a big deal. Nothing against Romano, but Marc is the go-to guy on all things Rays and he’s been on top of all this since the beginning.
Even the Rays ushers back in September were skeptical that the new stadium would ever come to fruition. Kinda weird all 4 newly elected officials are against it.
Pads Fans
Topkins tweet was a link to Romano’s article.
Fever Pitch Guy
Pads – I understand, I was referring to the below November 12th article written by Marc that’s linked. Seems like nobody read the article or noticed the new stadium funding was in serious jeopardy. I did my best Paul Revere impersonation though. LOL!
mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/tropicana-field-can-be-…
Pads Fans
FPG, What blew me away the most about that is that it was Latvala that led the charge against allowing the bonds to go to a vote and he was one of the guys that was in favor originally.
Fever Pitch Guy
Pads – Honest question, you think it was corruption? Or pressure from voters to kill the funding?
Certainly the hurricane changed priorities.
Pads Fans
I think originally it was corruption that allowed the deal in the first place. When you meet Latvala you come away checking to make sure you still have your watch and your wallet. Just slimy. I think what moved him away after championing it originally was pressure from voters.
The thing I don’t get is that killing the bonds for building the ballpark doesn’t kill the deal to sell all that land to Sternberg and Hines for about 10% of what its worth. Sternberg will still make billions off redeveloping that land with or without a stadium. The city and county will still be on the hook for tens of millions in infrastructure including transit regardless of whether the stadium is built.
longdistancebrewer
Your second paragraph here seems key if correct (I’ve no reason to doubt!). That would produce a hugely conflicted position for Sternberg and seemingly every incentive to get the Rays off that land and out of town.
kroeg49
Nashville is on the phone. Dave Stewart is that you?
Pete'sView
Fever Pitch Guy —
“the Cheap Rays way of doing business” has produced a remarkably competitive baseball team for years.
Given the market revenues, what are you complaining about? There are plenty of other things about the Rays to complain about.
Fever Pitch Guy
Pete – It was in reference to conversations we’ve had here regarding the poor fan experience, overcharging of fans, refusal to extend star players, and refusal to add championship caliber talent when a decent regular season team was already assembled.
It’s not the lack of revenue that’s preventing a WS championship, it’s the lack of financial commitment by ownership that’s keeping payroll down and therefore preventing higher revenue.
bostonbob
FPG, if MLB had the stones to stop paying the franchises that DO NOT spend their money from revenue sharing, then nothing will change.
Fever Pitch Guy
bob – What’s your logic behind that? Without revenue sharing, some recipients would probably be losing money. That’s not something they would tolerate on a regular basis.
CleaverGreene
Yes, Stu re-directed the hurricane towards St Pete.
enteluj88
Those taxpayers are right, and it would seem that they intentionally elected people who are against giving money to wealthy people (municipally, anyway). You can’t use public funds to build a ballpark when hurricane infrastructure is clearly lacking and people are now without homes and businesses. Frankly, there needs to be legislation at all levels of government to stop public funding of sports stadia and arenas.
Fever Pitch Guy
ente – Well said!
Yes, of course taxpayers would elect politicians whose views mirror their own. Politicians are supposed to represent all voters, not just the wealthy and certainly not just the baseball fans.
The only thing to keep in mind, the new stadium would be the centerpiece of the entertainment district that’s planned. This is a trend throughout MLB now, many teams such as the Braves and Rangers already have it and other teams such as the Royals and Red Sox are already underway with making the ballpark area an entertainment destination.
My understanding is the revenue that the new stadium and entertainment district around it would generate is significant. So it’s not a matter of just building a new stadium.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Everything will be solved if they made their stadium right next to Raymond James stadium
But Stu is kind of like Jeff Fischer where money is more important than the team so he wants to make the 2nd Montreal expos
Unclemike1526
Now you have the A’s in a minor league park and the Rays in Limbo with no stadium seeming a viable option. I was fairly certain that I hadn’t heard about the plans for the new park being finalized. This is another fine mess for Manfred to get himself out of. Now with new people being involved because of the election what’s gonna happen? Does anybody know how many new board members we’re talking about? Admit I don’t follow Florida elections due to wanting to keep my sanity.
NashvilleJeff
@unclemike1526: Fever Pitch Guy has posted good information and links in this thread that will answer your questions.
Unclemike1526
Have to admit I didn’t read the whole article until now, Just the first part. So if I read it right there are now 4 NEW commissioners and a 5-2 vote for is now 4-3 against? And all these negotiations have to be redone? Yeah I think that’s a long shot to get done by early 2025 and break ground. Plus there were probably going to be delays anyway which would throw 2028 into doubt. It kind of sounds like they’re going to move to me.
franklinstubbsghost
Well said Unclemike. The NFL or NBA would not tolerate having two franchises in the state that the A’s and Rays are. Manfred seems clueless. These two teams have had stadium issues for years and nothing gets resolved. IMO moving the A”s to Vegas is a disaster waiting to happen. MLB needs to determine a fair market price for these two teams and force current ownership to sell for the good of the game. Nashville and up and coming Salt Lake City should be at the head of the list for relocation without affecting geographical (divisions) for either team. With Manfred in charge, I do not expect a sensabile outcome to occur.
Unclemike1526
Salt Lake City would be a good place to start looking at IMO. But you would have to build a domed stadium. I’m still completely shocked that Minnesota built an open air stadium. Nothing quite like opening day in March in Minnesota and Cleveland. Even the Polar Bears wouldn’t show up. Probably cause a division re-alignment. Sounds like a plan to me.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
At this point the rays should move with how they have slave wages
Pads Fans
Why domed in SLC? Heat?
Unclemike1526
Can’t imagine it would be real warm there in March and Oct-Nov. Or am I wrong? You have to at least plan for the possibility of it IMO. Everywhere is fairly nice in the summer. Retractable dome would be awesome like Milwaukee. has. That’s a nice park. Plus isn’t the Northwest rainy? Again never lived there, Just assuming.
M.C.Homer
Pads…April snow rare but not out of the question. Cold nights at the very least
M.C.Homer
4,300 ft in elevation..
M.C.Homer
Uncle, Can get below freezing at night into May
Pads Fans
M.C., I attended a conference in Provo April 30th to May 2nd a few years back and the Wasatch were still covered in snow. In Provo it was in the mid-60s and no snow, but I marveled at how beautiful the mountains right outside of town looked covered in snow. I guess snow early in the season is a real possibility. Hadn’t thought about that.
stymeedone
If they are getting paid, they are not a slave. If they are getting paid hundreds of thousands to millions to play a child’s game, they are privileged and rich!
enteluj88
Remember when he said there would be no talk of expansion until those two stadium situations were settled? It’s kind of hilarious that he’s taken years to make both situations worse. Obviously the hurricane damage was unexpected and didn’t help, but for these two situations to be such a high priority and to just deteriorate really shows how inept Manfred has been.
Buffett
Nashville is waiting
MatthewStairs
Not like it used to be.
There’s much less of a public appetite for stadium subsidies after the NFL stadium deal
Steve E.
I live in Orlando and as far as anybody here is concerned, they can leave. That stadium is impossible to get to from here. As taxpayers, let’s stop subsidizing billionaires. There have been three or more generations of baseball fans exposed to that product since that team was formed, and they still don’t draw.
Fever Pitch Guy
Steve – I agree, Stu is one of the most disliked owners in MLB. His cheapness is legendary. You’d think a team that struggles with attendance would actually do what they can to attract fans, but instead they make the fan experience even worse.
For instance instead of having food promotions like Toronto’s Dollar Hot Dog nights, the Rays charge ridiculously expensive concessions all the time. So even if a family of 4 gets free tickets, who can afford to spend $12 on one hotdog or slice of pizza?
You can’t buy tickets even if you are the box office, you’re forced to buy them online and pay the ridiculous online fees. And last year when they started tacking on the sales tax right before finally your purchase, that was the last straw for me. Talk about deception.
Rays in the Bay
@Fever
Absolutely agree. Everyone points to the cheap tickets and ask why nobody goes… Well, Stu has cheapened the brand, disconnected the team from the community, and has commitment issues to the team. It’s all about squeezing profit margins and rays fans know it.
Why have the Bolts/Bucs succeeded where Rays have fallen? It’s not only about location, it’s about a prickly owner who is unwilling to splurge on FAs and extensions to build a fanbase. In my time, he has only committed to one person in the last 5 years and that guy is now in jail. Where has our franchise player been? Most teams have one… The Rays haven’t had anyone in ages. I don’t include Taylor Walls or Brandon Lowe or McLanahan either.
NashvilleJeff
@Buffett: When Dombrowski left to join the Phils and abandoned his efforts to get a MLB franchise here in Nashville, he said that there was no chance a team would be able to play here for 10 years—-or more. Be a tough sell by MLB to get the Braves, Cards, and Cincy to vote to allow a Nashville relocation. Charlotte’s probably got a better chance (even though the Braves would oppose it.)
This one belongs to the Reds
Charlotte would be a good option.
fred-3
@NashvilleJeff – Manfred said he’s wanted expansion by end of his tenure in 2029. Considering the A’s and Rays situations are still in flux and imminent expansion of at least 2 more teams, I’d be willing to bet Nashville gets a team by the end of the decade.
This one belongs to the Reds
I’d laugh if no one wanted to pay the fee for an expansion team even if he wanted to expand.
grimullin
Charlotte would make sense for them to be only a couple of hours from their AAA team in Durham.
This one belongs to the Reds
Actually even for the White Sox as three of their farm clubs are in proximity…though one of those is actually in Charlotte.
Pads Fans
Las Vegas is as close to LA as Nashville is to any of those cities.
NashvilleJeff
@Pads Fans: My point was that there will be at least 3 cities opposing a team in Nashville. Guess you could argue that both LA teams might be averse to a franchise in Vegas, but it appears they didn’t vote that way when the decision had to be made by MLB.
Unclemike1526
Lets hope that even if the New Stadium gets approval they have a better plan for the roof than the last one. Cloth roof in Hurricane alley? That guy needs firing if anybody ever did.
Pads Fans
It would take 8 owners voting against a move to kill it and I doubt even one does if it means getting hundreds of million of taxpayer dollars.
Unclemike1526
It did seem curious that they were going to put the NEW ballpark right next to the OLD one when the major beef I seemed to read all the time was that it was so hard to get to. Seems like some brain damage might be involved here.
Pads Fans
Lots and lots of $$$ greasing the wheels of government.
Unclemike1526
Probably a shame that all the commissioners they probably bribed just got voted out of office and now they have to start over. Which makes it all the more curious they waited this long. Ah what a hurricane can do to turn a smile up side down. Complete waste of bribe money.
basilisk4
To your point — are there are a lot of A’s fans in LA? There are a TON of Braves fans and Cardinals fans in TN.
Unclemike1526
Braves I can see, Cardinals? Really? Why pray tell? Inquiring minds wanna know.
Fever Pitch Guy
Mike – Hard to argue about a roof that lasted 34 years without any type of repairs.
Who would have thought the stadium would even last that long?
The Braves and Rangers have EACH had 3 stadiums since The Trop was built.
Pads Fans
I cannot say about the Cardinals and I do not doubt that there are Cards fans in Nashville. I do know that in their shareholder report, the Braves said that in 2024 6% of viewership to the Braves on MLB.tv came from Tennessee. In the bankruptcy proceedings DSG said that 3% of viewership of Braves games came from Tennessee. Interestingly enough the largest percentage outside of Georgia came from Western and Central North Carolina including Asheville and Charlotte.
While it has not made me much money, the Braves stock, BATRA, is one of my favorites. While I am relatively well off, I am not a billionaire that can invest in a team otherwise, Through buying that stock, and Liberty Media which is the parent company of Atlanta Braves Holding, I can have a tiny bit of ownership of the team.
Pads Fans
The ones that blocked a vote on the bonds have been in office for a long time, Chris Latvala and Dave Eggers.
Fever Pitch Guy
Mike – Everything is hard to get to when driving through Tampa.
Pads Fans
Transplants. That would be about it.
NashvilleJeff
@UncleMike: Cards AAA team is in Memphis. I grew up in Atlanta but have lived here in Nashville since the early 80’s. I’d break it down to 50% Braves fans, 30% Cards fans, and 20% Cincy fans in this area. Bally Sports showed a lot of Cincy games here with the Brave being the most televised.
Unclemike1526
So if Milton had hit 33 years ago you’re saying it would have held up? Sounds more like plain old dumb luck to me.
Unclemike1526
Ah OK. I see now. Cubs AAA farm team is in Iowa so they don’t play in that league So I don’t see them. Makes a little more sense to me now. Thanks Jeff. Most teams like their AAA clubs a little closer than that. Iowa is just a Buddy Holly plane ride away from Chicago. Memphis to St Louis sounds like more of a challenge.
bpskelly
Memphis Redbirds have been the Cardinals AAA team for awhile, and the team was actually fully owned by the Cardinals ownership for a long time. They’re still a minority owner of the club.
Western Tennessee is heavily Cardinals country and Eastern is heavily Braves country.
NashvilleJeff
@Unclemike1526: Yep, I know Iowa. I was born in Sioux City (mother’s side of the family), moved back to Atlanta (father’s side of the family) when I was 5, and moved to TN at 18 to go to college. Been here since. Memphis is 283 miles from StL on I-55.
NashvilleJeff
@bpskelly: You’re spot on bp.
Pads Fans
Milton was the first hurricane in 100+ years to make a direct hit on the Tampa Bay area.
NashvilleJeff
@Pads Fans: I’m a Braves fan living here in Nashville, but everyone who watches the Braves here is blacked out on MLB tv. We get our Braves telecasts only on Comcast—at least we did until last week when Diamond Sports granted streaming rights to Amazon Prime.
Fever Pitch Guy
Mike – Impossible to determine, but logic would dictate a much newer roof would hold up better.
Keep in mind that kind of roof is like a chain being as strong as it’s weakest link. It will hold up better with all panels intact, once a couple panels get breached then the wind gets inside and under the other panels and it’s game over.
CleaverGreene
The roof lasted over 30 years. The fault lies in the approval of lowering their insurance coverage on the stadium in January from 10M to 30M, All to save 240K in premiums.
CleaverGreene
Well, then Stu is a dope for not getting this written in stone before the election.
As we know Floridians are pretty stupid with their votes.
CleaverGreene
Well there is eastern Tennessee and Western Tennessee..and the western part is less than 3 hours from St Louis.
cman
I’d say they are pretty smart, compared to peoples in NY, Illinois, and California. All three states are losing population at a rapid rate.
Fever Pitch Guy
Cleaver – There’s no value in bringing politics into the discussion. Many readers here live in Florida, including lots of players such as Soto. You’re insulting a large amount of people.
basilisk4
I was shocked when I learned several years ago that there are many Cardinals fans in TN. But if you look at a map, St. Louis is the closest team geographically to western Tennessee. I live in north GA, and over the years, I’ve come across a number of Cardinals fans from Tennessee.
alwaysgo4two
Again, for the hundredth time. The Rays are not heading to a team fighting for an expansion team. Why? Because an expansion team will have to pay a hugh amount to MLB and the teams to compensate them for the expansion draft. I’ve heard a billion, or more. If they relocate, there will be no draft, or expansion fee. MLB is going to do everything they can to prevent such a move.
This one belongs to the Reds
I don’t live there so maybe I am missing something, but putting a new stadium right where people complain about getting to the current one and where attendance is poor seemed odd to begin with.
alwaysgo4two
I do live there and I’ll tell you why. Rays ownership is looking for the biggest government handout and because Pinellas County has a tourist tax bringing in huge $$$ they are more able to pay, as opposed to a mostly private group in Hillsborough County. Basically it was a deal they couldn’t refuse. The location is the problem but the dollars made that irrelevant to the Rays owners. This might turn out somehow best for everyone but no one really knows now what’s going to happen.
This one belongs to the Reds
Cash, which is just as good as money. Got it.
mgomrjsurf
Orlando.
Lanidrac
Still in the Snowbird State, so it wouldn’t help much.
Rsox
At this point, as much as they have said they would prefer an expansion team they might as well consider the Rays. If it helps, by the time 2028 rolls around most of the current Rays will be gone anyway, so it will be like starting from scratch…
MatthewStairs
Two teams now playing in minor league parks with cheap owners refusing to foot the bill for building their ballpark.
Wild.
Joe says...
The two situations are nothing alike. The A’s and Fisher are a total clown show. The Rays might be cheap but if they had $10 billion of their own money they were willing to invest in a stadium, it couldn’t be ready this year and likely not ready next year.
Lindor's Bodyguard
Thank you for clarifying.
Bart Harley Jarvis
I think ‘…if they had $10 billion (of someone else’s) money they were willing to invest in a stadium,…’
Very few owners are willing to spend any of their own money on a stadium that’ll be considered obsolete for some reason in 25 years.
Joe says...
Bart my point was that money has nothing to do with the Rays having to play in a minor league park this year and most likely next as well. It’s just an unfortunate situation and there’s no good solution. Now in regards to 2028, that’s a whole different story.
ClevelandSteelEngines
Its amazing how much power this private entertainment has over the public. Moving on would be better for citizens because the franchise produces a lackluster product and cares little for fan satisfaction. There is a much better way to spend $1B.
Clofreesz
Just don’t play at the Trop at this point. Steinbrenner Field feels and looks nicer. (Although the lack of a roof will make games feel terrible).
Fever Pitch Guy
Clo – Take a look at how many Tarpons games, despite a much shorter schedule, were disrupted by weather. We are talking 19 days of weather disruptions this year (home & away) not counting rain delays.
milb.com/tampa/schedule/2024-04
bpskelly
Not to mention, if the other team is schedule for a home game — which almost certainly will be the case — when the heck do you play the re-scheduled game?
twozero6ix
WHY CANT YOU JUST BE NORMAL
mynameisjeff253
WHY CANT YOU B**** BE NORMAL. ALWAYS GOTTA BE SO EXTRA
just_thinkin
shrug emoji
Irod54
Hello Nashville, Charlotte, Portland, or Montreal where fans will actually go to watch them
920falcon
Not sold on Montreal. They didn’t draw for the Expos. What has changed?
misterb71
Completely different situation now compared to then. Remember that the team was last owned by Jeffrey Loria who actively worked to scuttle the team’s prospects for staying in Montreal. The team basically refused to arrange media deals and less than a full schedule was broadcast on television and, if I remember correctly, the team squashed French-language radio broadcasts effectively destroying a sizable chunk of their local fanbase. Loria was the John Fisher of his time in the way he actively worked to ruin a baseball market so he could justify leaving for another city.
Samuel
misterb71;
Were the Rays to move up there and given a decent park, with the teams the FO would put on the field they’d become Canada’s team and drive the Blue Jays to a 2nd class status outside of Toronto.
Lindor's Bodyguard
Portland would not support a baseball team. Forget it. Don’t even think about it.
Pads Fans
Portland has already has $1k deposits on 5k seasons tickets and they don’t have a team. They agreed to the terms for purchasing a site for a stadium and are going through the EIR requirements as we speak. The city council supports the PDX baseball project. portlanddiamondproject.com/
Portland is serious about baseball and will have the largest TV market without a team in 2025.
Pete'sView
And it’s a terrific city.
Hawktattoo
Why not? They support the NBA team and the Soccer team. Large market when you include Vancouver WA and cities south of Portland.
YaGottaBelieveAgain
Vancouver Canada also
Can’t we get a group of rich business people/Hockey fans to buy a new MLB expansion team?
Lanidrac
Why not? Its MSA is larger than Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.
If we exclude Florida and Riverside, CA, it’s also the 3rd largest MSA in the U.S. that currently has no MLB team after just Charlotte and San Antonio.
HatlessPete
LB speaking as a long time Portlander, you don’t know what you’re talking about. See all the factual information folks have already shared here for citation.
mgomrjsurf
Putero Rico? New Orleans where Saints play? Where Colts play? Jacksonville where Jags play. Where Bill’s play. Patriots play.
RochesterMetsFan
I’d love for Buffalo to get a team but the new Bills stadium won’t work at all. Buffalo doesn’t have the money the other cities have. Toronto would kibosh it even though no one here is a Blue Jays fan even with it being so close. We don’t have the tech money a Nashville or Portland has. Honestly, I’m surprised there isn’t much talk for San Antonio/Austin since it has a large transplant population with no real attachment to Texas or Houston, there’s money and space around like New Braunfels or San Marcos to build a stadium relatively close to both.
Samuel
RochesterMetsFan;
Austin has become a mecca for so many former Californians. Lot’s of bright people there. Great vibes. Lot’s of successful businesses both moving there and being created.
Pads Fans
Hiram Bithorn Stadium holds about 17k I think and it would be packed if they played a season there. The problem is the same as Florida, an outdoor stadium and rain. Puerto Rico’s rainy season bridges spring through fall, lasting from April through November. From June 1st to November 30th, Puerto Rico has hurricane season.
Pads Fans
Montreal was continually at the bottom of MLB in attendance and they are putting a new roof on Olympic Stadium that won’t be ready until 2028 so that is not an option.
Lanidrac
Is waiting until 2028 to move to Montreal any worse than waiting until 2028 for a new stadium where they are now?
Granted, it would be preferable to be able to move sooner, but it’s not a worse option that staying in the Florida Bay Area.
Rsox
Without a new stadium Montreal would just be more of the same, with a vastly bigger, even more out of date ballpark than the one they currently play in.
Not sold om Portland being viable and not likely to have to tax payers jumping at the chance to pay for the stadium.
Charlotte is interesting but i could see the Braves trying to block it
jbigz12
I’d have to look at what the Braves defined territory is by the MLB. But If you’re 4 hours away like Atlanta and Charlotte are——there’s absolutely no reason why you should have any ability to block another sports team from coming in. Just Bad for the sport
Rays in the Bay
Not enough people in Canada to divide the fanbase. Vancouver is too close to the Mariners. So is Portland. Nashville or Charlotte could work but again, a lot of work would have to be done to convince the public to pay for ALL of the stadium expenses (because Stu refuses to pitch in even half of the fund) and acquire funding from private companies. I think relocation is a lot more challenging than people feel and that the general feeling of baseball is reflected in the As and Rays. I don’t think there are many starving baseball markets left.
Rsox
The fiasco that has been the A’s trying to relocate to Vegas is a prime example of relocation being more challenging than people realize. The Expos move to Washington worked because MLB owned them and Washington had a stadium that had already been used for Baseball literally sitting there ready to use. Thus is not the case this time around
Troy Percival's iPad
If the Pinellas County Commission wants them to play in Pinellas County so bad, they should have an MLB Caliber facility. Tropicana Field has been a dump since 2005. Hopefully they move out of St Pete but stay in the Bay Area
Rsox
To be fair, Tropicana Field has been a dump since 1990…
Irod54
I predict by 2029 they’re not playing in St. Pete anymore and relocate
Hot Corner IJ
We want a team in Charlotte and should not be held hostage by the Rays.
MatthewStairs
Now the A’s and Rays are holding up expansion…again.
This one belongs to the Reds
If expansion ever actually happens.
Rsox
It will happen. MLB is outpaced by the NFL, NHL, and possibly sooner than later the NBA in number of franchises. The only hold up has been the on-going soap opera between Fisher and Oakland (now Fisher and Vegas) and the Rays stadium situation. Both of those issues should have been resolved a decade ago, but here we are.
Assuming the Rays stay in Tampa Nashville probably gets a team and likely another western territory gets the other team, be it Salt Lake City, Portland, Oakland or Sacramento
920falcon
We have too many teams, as it is.
This one belongs to the Reds
Under this screwed up system, for sure.
Samuel
MatthewStairs;
LOL
Although I believe MLB needs contraction and not expansion, it has occurred to me the past few months that while the Commissioner has targeted the A’s and Rays situation as being the top priorities to resolve for years, their proposed moves have created nothing but more chaos.
Thought should be given to contracting those 2 franchises and then
2 or 4 others. The players are so bad that most teams go through around 22-26 position players each year, and 28-32 pitchers. Fans that don’t live MLB each day of the season can’t keep up with who’s on their team from day-to-day. It’s ridiculous.
CleaverGreene
There are not enough pitchers to fill rotations of the existing teams.
just_thinkin
Very little sympathy for anything happening in the state of Florida.
For Love of the Game
Weird comment.
alwaysgo4two
Classy. Actually not at all, pretty disgusting and I know why you’re saying that. Typical.
Fever Pitch Guy
always – Agreed!
Do we ever see anyone here saying they have “very little sympathy” for what’s going on in California with the wildfires?
ClevelandSteelEngines
Wildfires would be a cool name for an expansion team in California
Fever Pitch Guy
Cleveland – With Pacific Gas & Electric as their major sponsor?
ClevelandSteelEngines
On the nose or just right, not sure? They would certainly have the most dangerous home-run fireworks celebrations with Fireball playing.
Informed Sportsball Discussion
Who were the three of you who liked this comment?
Fever Pitch Guy
Informed – I think Likes should be made public.
Let people get shamed, like the Scarlett Letter.
CleaverGreene
I live there and I agree.
This one belongs to the Reds
Just because you think the governor is an idiot, and you could say the same in a lot of states, no reason to wish ill will on the residents.
Unfortunately, we live in a time where people have to inject politics into everything.
HatlessPete
I have plenty of issues with Florida, probably a lot of the same ones as you, but no bruh. The everyday people who have been impacted by this disaster absolutely deserve sympathy and help.
That being said, it might be for the best if the rays do relocate. It’s kind of a folly to build a brand new ballpark right next to the old one and expect a better result. In general Florida is going to face a lot of severe challenges in the years to come given geography and vulnerability for climate impact. Making a big longterm capital investment like this in the Tampa Bay area is rather like buying a hilltop mansion in ancient Pompeii. What could possibly go wrong?
isaacfromfl
Hurricane Milton may have ended baseball in the Tampa/St. Pete area for good
MatthewStairs
I think you mean Hurricane Stu.
Samuel
MatthewStairs;
The Rays have put out competitive teams for years on low budgets. Their FO people have been poached to such a point that this offseason it seems anyone that worked for them in any capacity is being hired away by franchises all around MLB….being paid more money and given promotions.
All this while for whatever reason the locals don’t show up.
It appears that most of their crowds are made of up people that moved to Florida from the area the Rays opposing teams represent.
With all the kvetching over the years about the difficulty so many of their fans encounter to get to their park – which
was the excuse for low attendance – that the actors involved elected to build a new park in the same area.
johncoltrane
Who is in charge here?? Who waits til a month before breaking ground on major construction to get financing approval? Why does tampa hate the rays? Why dont they have fans? Why is this franchise cursed? Go to nashville, go to montreal, go to mexico city, ask elon for a rocket to mars. Go anywhere at this point
Pads Fans
St Pete and Pinellas county. The Trop and the new stadium are not in Tampa.
kje76
In fairness, the schedule was more of breaking ground as soon as the last body signed off on the funding plan. The Rays, the city, and the county have been working on the plan all along. As soon as the Rays got final approvals, they were proceeding. The hurricane just threw a massive monkey wrench into it.
Samuel
johncoltrane;
Elon has built one of the largest state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the world in the Austin, Texas area. That market is booming with transplants from around the US and the world.
Stick a MLB team there.
johncoltrane
@samuel
i was seriously thinking texas as well but there’s already 1 team in the dallas area and 1 in houston, the 2 major cities. i’ve been to austin a bunch of times. very cool place. great bbq. great music. but i never got the sports vibe from the city or its people. lots of artists, musicians, hippies, weirdos. fun city. may not be a baseball town tho
Yankee Clipper
Wow, taxpayers don’t want to fund Stu’s business…. What a surprise.
For Love of the Game
Agreed: If Stu doesn’t want to fund Stu’s business, why should taxpayers do it for him?
Lindor's Bodyguard
Baseball in a mausoleum is more important than hurricane recovery and relief.
~Stu
Pads Fans
Read the article by Romano. There are millions in tourism development dollars that cannot be spent on hurricane recovery and relief.
kje76
In fairness, many of us can’t read the article due to a pay wall.
JoeBrady
Did the NYY not receive government help (which I fully endorsed)?
Yankee Clipper
They did receive funding when they built a new stadium, but paid for a majority of it on their own.
But, right after going through a hurricane that demolished the area, after which people are trying to get their houses replaced, it doesn’t surprise me they don’t want to fund a multi-million-dollar stadium and the costs to replace the current one’s roof.
Yankeesforever
move the team already,
Got to be a new city that wants this team.
Better yet, Boston once sported two teams, so why not see if Boston can support a second team like NY does,
I mean the baseball fans of Boston got to be hungry for a winning team again…eh.
This one belongs to the Reds
St. Louis had two teams once too. Same with Philly.
Captain Dunsel
Chicago also used to have two major league baseball teams….
bpskelly
Captain, you may win the internet today.
NashvilleJeff
@Yankeesforever: Very much doubt that MLB would be in favor of having 2 AL teams (and in the same Division as well) reside in the same city.
Fever Pitch Guy
Jeff – Agreed! I could definitely see an NL team returning to Boston though.
panj341
They will not want to give up their monopoly.
Same thing with Philly, never agree to move A’s back.
CleaverGreene
All before the west coast became a commercial airline destination.
Inside Out
This is exactly what MLB and Rays owner were hoping would happen They never really wanted to stay in Tampa area but got trapped by county agreeing to new stadium. Now they are salivating over being able to blame a hurricane and the board for having to move to Charlotte
solaris602
The hurricane did change the dynamics of this, and you’re right – this situation gives ownership the opportunity to relocate whether they’ll admit that or not. The city may have also gotten themselves off the hook because in the end everyone has to ask themselves how many fans are gonna show up in the new park?
misterb71
Also factor in that the county could get out of repairing Tropicana Field at a cost of $30+ million if the team says they’ll try to leave sooner. At this point the county representatives should work to help MLB and the Rays permanently move from Tampa. The cost of repairs for temporary tenants in 2026 is not to be taken lightly.
Luke Strong
To me, the most obvious destination for a Rays relocation is near Oakland, it’s a huge market. They need a park with ~35k capacity. Assuming they don’t have a new park until 2029 or 2030, they could play in the Oakland Coliseum until then. If I owned the Rays, I’d seek to end all activities in Florida, especially get out of that extremely dumb stadium deal in St. Pete and never look back.
DanM-9727
An East Coast team playing on the West Coast. Not happening.
Fever Pitch Guy
Dan – I kinda think that’s already happened once or twice ;O)
Mikenmn
Yeah, basically impossible. Never been done
phenomenalajs
My prediction if this move happens is that the Rays would move to the AL West, Houston would move to the AL Central, and Cleveland would move to the AL East.
kje76
I highly doubt that, after years of the MLB arguing that the Oakland Coliseum is not fit for baseball, that they will approve a new team moving into the stadium. Just not feasible from their viewpoint.
I also suspect that the Rays are pretty well stuck for 2025 playing in Florida. At some point in 2025, if the County doesn’t back down and the City doesn’t uphold their contractual responsibility to provide a viable stadium (until 2028), I suspect the Rays will start legal proceedings. That’s step 1.
Pads Fans
There has been a lot of talk about what the Rays legal options are and because it was an act of God that damaged the Trop, that Sternberg signed off on the city lowering the level of coverage and passed on covering that difference in cost himself because of the impending demolition, and the cost of repairs is far above the existing insurance coverage, the Rays don’t have much in the way of legal recourse. Its not like anyone expected a hurricane to hit the Tampa area head on since it hadn’t happened in over 100 years.
DanM-9727
Maybe Tampa gets a second chance. That area where the Yankees minor league team trains off Dale Mabry, South of Steinbrenner Field would be great for a new ballpark.
Samuel
DanM-9727;
Fair enough.
Why didn’t they look to move there in the first place?
Mikenmn
Ah, the Hobson’s choice between using 1B in taxpayer money for the economic benefit of a private individual…..or asking that private individual to contribute something beyond criticism…..grapple grapple
This one belongs to the Reds
I can see eventually sports franchises not wanting to operate in coastal cities period. Won’t be next week, next month, or next year, but as these extreme weather issues keep happening, they will look at the bottom line.
Lindor's Bodyguard
Hmmmmm? Politics. Greed. Entitlement. And a bad place for a baseball team.
What could possibly go wrong?
NashvilleJeff
@Lindor’s: “Politics. Greed. Entitlement.” Seems to work just fine for NY teams, Chicago teams, California teams, etc., etc., etc. Same everywhere people live.
misterb71
How many more times do the local municipalities where the Rays want to be have to tell them the team is not welcome. There have been a number of times now where either financing, construction plans or both have been rejected by the county. When Tampa shows you who they are, accept it and plan to move.
DannyQ3913
Fold that team
In nurse follars
My only comment is this: if you are lucky enough to live in reasonable proximity to a major league team, i am not, support it. Help it thrive. Make it successful. Or you too might one day wonder where the team went while sitting in a cow pasture watching a single a game.
This one belongs to the Reds
I’ll add to that, support your local minor league team too. They need it a lot more.
Unclemike1526
I still want to see how many people ACTUALLY show up to watch a baseball game in Florida in July when the humidity is like 150%. Minor League park or not. I’m thinking they’re going to be terribly disappointed. Night, Day makes no real difference. It’ll be the same.
panj341
People mention other cities which will all be MLB welfare cities that won’t be able to compete with the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox etc and have to rely on revenue sharing.
May draw better than Tampa initially but the honeymoon won’t last forever.
ClevelandSteelEngines
Stick the Rays with the Yankees and Mets. The region can support another team, especially a small market one like the Rays. It’s not called the Tri-state area for nothing
Informed Sportsball Discussion
As a former San Diego Charger fan, this is looking a lot like the endgame to the Bolts leaving.
This allowing for the fact the Rays and Tampa have come much closer to agreeing on a stadium deal than the Chargers and San Diego ever did.
Godspeed, Rays fans. I hope it works out.
HalosHeavenJJ
Really tone deaf comments by Sternberg. The region is devastated by a hurricane. A new ballpark is not and should not be a priority.
kje76
He’s damned no matter how he phrases it. He’s going to look bad at raising it, but at the same time this last approval is the only way they get the stadium built before the Tropicana Field lease runs out, especially if the Trop is a question mark in 26 and 27. How many posters here wanted them to break ground immediately? This is the fastest current way to do that.
tigerdoc616
Just one more turn in this $h!tshow. The problem in moving the Rays out of Tampa is the same as staying: What to do until a new stadium is built. None of the possible landing spots have a viable MLB sized stadium. So the Rays would be playing in a AAA park at best with about 10K capacity for even longer than next year.
FWIW, I think Sternberg is saber rattling, for now. If the bonds get rejected and the Trop not repaired then all bets are off.
Boz32
St Pete doesn’t deserve the team and I live here. The fans don’t support the team even when winning. I see another Marlins situation where after the newnesses of the stadium wear off, it’s empty most non Yankees or Red Sox games. Plus the new commissioners are far left liberals that don’t see the value in sports teams. Another city will welcome the team and St Pete can go back to pushing their “diversity first” agenda as a 2nd class city without a major sports team.
Pads Fans
MLB moved start times to 6:40 and made it impossible for working people outside of St Pete to get off work at 5 and get to a game by opening pitch. 7:05 was hard enough. 6:40 is impossible for 2/3 of the population of the Tampa Bay area. Even a new stadium won’t change that. A stadium in that location cuts off most of the fan base. Even Clearwater is an hour away at that time of day on a weekday. Its all about location. Put a new stadium in Tampa and they would draw.
Hillsborough county said no to funding as much of a new ballpark and flat out turned down giving Sternberg hundreds of millions in land for him to build on around the ballpark
Back in October, well before the election, the commission put off the bond vote. It had nothing to do with the new commissioners. It was because Chris Latvala and Dave Eggers, both Republicans, wanted to revisit the deal they had already voted in favor of.
You want to know something crazy? The Rays still get to buy all that land for pennies on the dollar and redevelop it. Sternberg and Hines Corporation will still make billions and the fans will lose their team.
Rays in the Bay
Highly doubtful. I’m not convinced there are as many welcoming markets that can be profitable left in the nation.
Nats ain't what they used to be
Face it, neither Florida team has ever been able to draw. Lots of reasons but why waste a good opportunity to leave area.
Citizen1
I’ll take move the rays to New Orleans for $1 billion, Alex
kje76
New Orleans is not happening. The current estimate is that New Orleans has less than a million people in the metro area, as compared with 3.3 million in Tampa/St. Pete, 2.8 million people in Charlotte, and 2.1 million in Nashville. Raleigh, at 1.5 million, is much more likely than NOLA.
Plus, hurricane prone.
DarkSide830
Just disband the team and start over again when they can get their garbage sorted.
Man What Runs With the Football
I remember listening to the sports radio callers when Miami got the expansion team over Tampa. Never heard such crying and crabbing about how they deserved a team, how baseball was in the towns blood etc etc. A few years down the road you get a team, said team is battling it out for the 1st place just about every year, and all we hear is crying again. Make up your minds, either you want a team or you don’t. And to the Goobers talking about expansion. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS? There’s already a shortage of pitchers, where do you propose to get all these new pitchers? There’s not enough talent to field any more teams, and until there’s a HARD salary cap the large market teams will just keep buying the great ones. So much for baseball in Charlotte, Portland, or Nashville.
Samuel
Man What Runs With the Football;
Florida got 2 expansion teams due to lobbying of the Florida delegations of Congress at the time. I was aware of it 2 years before expansion was announced. They picked up Congresspeople from Colorado and Arizona that joined in threatening to overturn MLB’s anti-trust exemption.
This was not the fault of MLB owners. They knew full well that Florida would not support baseball in the summer and that the high-altitude thin air in Denver would make for too much hitting and not enough pitching; thereby undermining anyone that tried to put a competitive team playing their home games in that area.
This is what happens when (paid off) politicians ramrod their agendas down the throat of private citizens.
DFAed in Gaffa
Not true. Where do you come up with this stuff? Denver and Miami were the obvious picks of the five finalist cities for the 1993 expansion teams and that’s why they got the teams. There was nothing sinister about it. According to your claim, CongressPeople from any city could always make the same threat. Denver has been a strong franchise, the best of the four newest teams..
Samuel
I got my information for a newsletter out of DC that I read regularly 2 YEARS before the expansion occurred. I showed it to numerous people at the time.
Did I say Denver was not a “strong” franchise? Do you have any reading comprehension? The Rockies attract more fans that moved to the area who show up to see their hometown team play. Same as the Rays, Marlins, and Angels.
DFAed in Gaffa
The teams were picked two years before they started play. Like I said, not true and where do you come up with this stuff? My reading comprehension is just fine. You seem to have a deficit with logical thinking.
My greatest passion back then was a team for DC, where I lived at the time, The DC ownership group was underfunded (Lerner not involved), plus the Baltimore problem, Buffalo too small a media market, Orlando didn’t have a temporary stadium, Phoenix was not a finalist city back then (not sure why), and Miami beat out Tampa. There were six finalist cities, I meant, not five. Denver is a large city with lots of yuppies, they could use the football stadium for baseball, and there was a void between KC and California. That’s why Denver got a team. There are always conspiracy theorists for everything.
IHLgulls
The idea that they were going to put a new ballpark in the same place they already had trouble getting people to travel to seemed insane to me. This is a blessing in disguise. Move to Nashville or something.
Lanidrac
If they lose the stadium deal, they should count their blessings and get out of Florida.
If they find a taker fast enough, maybe they can still complete the move by 2028, and then we can finally get new expansion teams by 2030.
TimT7313
Relocate the team. It’s not supported by the local population. I’d love to see the team go to Charlotte NC.
SewaldSwansonSwoon
Rays in FL are cooked. There is literally nothing to indicate otherwise.
30 Parks
Rays & the local politicians are that endlessly bickering couple we all know. Exhausting. “I think we should see other people.” Or, “it’s not you, it’s me.” It’s time.
kroeg49
Merge the White Sox and the Rays together, making a better team on the South Side of Chicago.
Rays in the Bay
I may have to change my username pretty soon.
Corrupt politicians + Cheap uncommitted owners = this.
Manfred should have forced Fisher and Sternberg to sell the teams a long time ago. While the cities share some blame, the owners have never been committed to the regions they were playing in. They should have sold to locally-based companies who have motivation to make a good team. Unfortunately it seems too late.
People championing relocation have a mindset stuck 20 years ago. I think most markets these days aren’t really excited to get a baseball team and pay for billionaires to make profits in a stadium with limited usage. I think this situation happens wherever they go if these owners are still at the helm of negotiations and discussions.
I’d be happy and cheer for them if they remain in Florida… In Jacksonville or Orlando. If they leave the state though, I’ll no longer be watching baseball and that’s really unfortunate for me.
Lanidrac
Sternberg has done everything he can to put together consistently winning teams on shoestring budgets. It’s not his fault Florida is a bad market for MLB or that they currently have no MLB sized stadium to play in. Why should he need to sell the team?
Meanwhile, as terrible an owner as Fisher has been, even he hasn’t done anything that MLB could use to force him to sell, not unless you count his breach of contract over maintaining the Oakland Colosseum as a big enough reason.
Rays in the Bay
For the faith of the game. It’s clear that he and many other owners are simply not interested in spending money to build better teams.
I had to chuckle when you said he’s doing everything he can. He certainly is not. Before this year, he got enough money from TV deals and revenue sharing to sign at least 1-2 big free agents. But crickets. He doesn’t try beyond the bare minimum. Hop over to Tampa proper and witness what owners who are committed to winning do. They build the fanbase, hire smart guys, change things around (if needed), and aren’t afraid to dish out contracts without being scared of NTCs. The way the Rays do business is the complete opposite of doing everything they can.
I was being dramatic about forcing them to sell. I meant pressure then to step up their games or sell. Internal pressure by the league to spend more for the sake of competitiveness and long-term success.
Lanidrac
Okay, everything short of putting his franchise in the red. Baseball is still a business, and hardly any owners ever allow themselves to lose money.
He doesn’t spend much money, because the Rays simply don’t have the revenue to do so, even with what they get from revenue sharing. Unlike a team like the Pirates, it makes sense why their payrolls are consistently as low as they are. That’s why they should get out of Florida now that they have a good excuse to do so, whether or not Sternburg sells the team.
The other Tampa teams can actually draw the Snowbirds, plus the NFL has an extensive revenue sharing system that just isn’t possible in MLB.
Pads Fans
No team in MLB has revenue below $250 million per Manfred and the Rays are one of the two bottom feeders. I think Manfred may be lowballing that number to not provide the MLBPA ammunition in the next CBA negotiations, but lets go with that number. .
Every team should be spending about 50% of revenue on player salaries and benefits. In other words their CBT payroll should be 50% of revenue. For the Rays that means a $125 million CBT payroll. They got there in 2022 and 2023, but not in any other seasons.
Nick W
The Montreal Expos will live again lol
The Saber-toothed Superfife
I can’t believe ANYONE could be dumb enough to think Austin would ever support a baseball team! Lol!
You need to get out of the house more….. lol..
Go Longhorns!
Nolan Ryan and the Round Rock Express, say, ?”huh”?.
DFAed in Gaffa
San Antonio / Austin is the potential market. Those city centers are 70 miles apart, but the sprawl of each brings them closer. Baseball has done well in Texas, and it’s a growing state.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
San Antonio Missions
Round Rock Express
Texas Longhorns
We’ve got about 9 (7 milb) minor league teams and the Texas State Baseball League.
There’s a little more to it than just looking on a map.
Austin? Lol. Austin cares about nothing…it has no soul.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
Austin is no longer about – hey let’s get together and jam. It will be fun. It’s more about, let me get up on stage with you because I’m so great, I can just blow you out of the water….
Nothing good will probably ever happen in Austin ever again.
DFAed in Gaffa
I’m still trying to figure out the meaning of your replies…
The Saber-toothed Superfife
It has no meaning (unless you know the secret code).
Mostly, I’m just angry my team didn’t win the World Series.
greg1
Completely understand the decision to hold back on bonds right now for a stadium with all the damage that was done around the TB area.
Never meant sense to me as to why they picked the same area in St. Pete’s again, and I’m sure ownership would be more than happy to leave town if the opportunity arises (as it seems to be).
My guess would be Nashville. The Sounds stadium is reasonable enough sized to be a temporary home while the club builds a new stadium.
Rays in the Bay
I’m not at all convinced they need all that money to rehab tourist areas (that’s the only thing they can technically use the funds for). After that they will just put the remainder in a city vault or in their pockets… Or worse yet, upgrade spring facilities in the county for the Jays and Phillies.
NoSubstitute
There’s a vacant cool comfortable and mosquito (but not raccoon) free MLB stadium in Oakland, California. I can just scribble an R in front of my A’s caps and I’m good to go.
chiefivey
i think them playing in a minor league stadium is awesome
Silas
They should just make the Rays a “travel team” like little league. They can go across the country and play all their games “away”. It would be an interesting novelty. America’s Team lol….
Larry D.
If you want to come down to Lee County to play ball, that would be ok.