in their desire for public funding. The Rays could face the same obstacle in their efforts to remain in the Tampa Bay area.The Rays are making progress toward a new ballpark locally, particularly in St. Petersburg, where their discussions are more advanced than they are in Tampa. In addition, Manfred told the, “I think we see the potential in the Tampa market dramatically different than we see Oakland.
The Rays’ plan is to build a new, 30,000-seat ballpark on the site of Tropicana Field and develop the surrounding 86 acres. In January, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch selected the Rays and the Hines development group over other bidders toThe Rays, though, continue to talk to Tampa, where the corporate base is larger than in St. Petersburg and the future population growth projects to be higher. Manfred called public funding “the largest single hurdle” in St.
In either locale, the Rays would want money from the city and/or county. The state of Florida likely would not contribute; Gov. Ron DeSantis opposes using taxpayer dollars to build sports facilities for professional teams. A local buyer would face the same obstacles as Sternberg in trying to get a new ballpark built. A buyer seeking to relocate the franchise probably would need to pay Sternberg a premium to persuade him to give up on the Tampa Bay area.
If the Rays cannot secure financing for a new park, all options will be open. Those options extend beyond Sternberg as owner, and Tampa Bay as the Rays’ permanent home.Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.