ORLANDO, Fla. — Baseball officials “have a sense of urgency” to find a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays after scrapping a plan to split seasons between Florida and Montreal when the team’s lease expires at the Tropicana Field after the 2027 season.
Major League Baseball gave the Rays the green light in June 2019 to explore the two-city plan, then announced on January 20 that the concept had been nixed.
“They’ve been in a substantial period of uncertainty as to where they’re going to play, which in turn dictates the economic outlook of the franchise,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday after an owners meeting. “That’s a bad thing. It’s a bad thing for a business. It hampers the ability of the business to operate and the club to operate in the most effective way.”
The Rays, permanently plagued by one of the lowest home attendance records in the major leagues, said in December 2018 that they had abandoned a plan to build a ballpark across the bay in the Ybor City area in Tampa.
Both St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Tampa City Mayor Jane Castor are hopeful that their communities can develop viable stadium proposals.
“My hope is that Tampa, the officials in Tampa Bay and the region … and the Rays can work together to find a solution that will keep a full season of baseball in Tampa,” Manfred said. “We believe that Tampa is a major league market and we want to find a solution that makes the club economically viable in that market… I think some of the feedback from civic leaders in the region has also been encouraging.”
Tampa Bay principal owner Stuart Sternberg said he has no current plans to sell the team or seek permission to explore relocation.
The Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, since their inaugural season in 1998.
Since Sternberg took control in October 2005, the once-troubled franchise has been a hit on the field, but not at the box office.
The Rays made it to the World Series in 2008 and 2020. They averaged around 9,500 fans for home games last season, 28th in the majors and ahead only of Miami and Oakland.
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MLB with urgency to find a new stadium for the Rays