Rays Baseball: The Stadium Deal Falls Through Now What?

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The Tampa Bay Rays fans have been waiting to hear if the team has decided to go forward with the St. Petersburg stadium deal. The city is upgrading the old Gas District, and the stadium is part of that upgrade. Both sides at times have been pointing the finger at each other. The biggest problem is that two major hurricanes hit the state of Florida in back-to-back weeks. Both Helene and Milton caused major damage throughout the state. The county and city commissions had to delay their vote on approving the funding bonds to move the stadium deal forward.

The Rays pointed their fingers at the commissions for delaying the vote but what did they expect them to do with the hurricanes? Many people lost everything and instead of bowing down, they made their residents a more important aspect instead of worrying about the stadium. The franchise says it will cost them an extra 150 million dollars because of the delay. Another delay is that Milton destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field. The team must play at Steinbrenner Field which is home of the Tampa Bay Tarpons the A-Affiliate of the New York Yankees. Despite all that the bonds for the stadium were approved by the city and county. The cost of the stadium is 1.3 billion with both sides sharing the cost.

In many cases, the Tampa Bay Rays were hoping the bonds were not approved and when it happened, they were surprised. Owner Stu Sternberg has had meetings with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to keep the Rays in the Tampa Bay area. Well, today Sternberg has announced the franchise will not go through with the deal. This means that the Rays could be moving out of the county or even the state. The city has approved to fix Tropicana Field by 2026 so they can play there again. Sternberg had the opportunity to have the stadium in Tampa but did not want to put any money up for it. This puts the Rays in bad shape because the stadium deal is done. With this development, Manfred and other team owners may force Sternberg to sell the Tampa Bay Rays.

We all know he does not have to do that, but many fans want him to get ownership that cares about the fans and team. The franchise raised ticket prices to make up for the lost revenue from fewer seats at Steinbrenner Field. The deal would have to be finalized by March 31st, but the announcement was made today. The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since 1998 when the franchise became part of the MLB. Most likely the Rays will get new ownership and stay in the area because that is what Manfred wants. The fans of Tampa Bay must be heartbroken and frustrated with everything going on. This is how bad ownership is. They never wanted the stadium deal done they were hoping the city would not approve the bonds. Let’s hope that the team stays here because the fan base is starting to grow, and the team is making improvements.

What are your thoughts on the Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal falling through? Leave a comment below.

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