Tampa Bay Rays president Matt Silverman has revealed that the Major League Baseball team has discussed the possibility of a larger upgrade project at Tropicana Field, as the franchise weighs up its options after dropping plans for a new ballpark last week.
On Thursday, the Rays’ principal owner Stuart Sternberg announced that the team had ended plans to develop a new stadium in St. Petersburg.
The Rays had set their sights on building the “best neighbourhood ballpark in Major League Baseball” after the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners last year approved a partnership with the City of St. Petersburg and the team to build a multi-purpose stadium.
In his announcement last week, Sternberg said that a “series of events” led to the Rays’ decision to pull the new stadium plans. The project was dealt substantial blows in the wake of Hurricanes Helen and Milton, which in October caused major damage to Tropicana Field, the team’s home stadium since 1998.
With Tropicana Field needing repair work following the hurricanes, the Rays will spend the 2025 season at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The Rays recently backed a plan from the City of St. Petersburg to carry out the repair work.
It has now emerged that the Rays would be open to staying at Tropicana Field in the long term, by working with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County to facilitate a major redevelopment of the stadium. The Rays’ lease deal at Tropicana Field expires in 2027.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays “pitched the idea” of teaming up with the city and the county to renovate the stadium, with the franchise to extend its stay at the ballpark until 2038 as part of the agreement.
Under this proposal, the Rays, the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County would each contribute $200m (£154m/€183m) towards the redevelopment of the stadium.
Silverman told the newspaper: “It is one of many possibilities that has been discussed with the city and the county since the hurricanes. We are open to any and all avenues that result in the Rays thriving here in Tampa Bay for years and for decades.”
The Tampa Bay Times notes that neither the city nor the county is keen on this proposal, with no decision appearing to be imminent.
