Tampa Bay Rays Announce Stadium Deal is Dead, Bringing Franchise's Future Into Question

The Tampa Bay Rays had locked down plans to open a new stadium in St. Petersburg in 2028, but owner Stu Sternberg backed off after Hurricane Milton added extra costs.

The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. Satellite imagery from Maxar shows the destruction on Oct. 10, 2024. | Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It took over a decade – plus two failed attempts in 2008 and 2018 – but the Tampa Bay Rays finally committed to building a new stadium in St. Petersburg in September 2023.

There were official renderings released by the team in May 2024, showing the state-of-the-art ballpark in an overhauled Historic Gas Plant District. The city had agreed to finance roughly half of the $1.3 billion project, putting the long-standing relocation rumors surrounding the franchise to bed for good.

But with the 2025 season about to get underway, those plans have gone up in dust.

Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg announced Thursday that his team was backing out of its agreed-upon stadium deal with the City of St. Petersburg. Costs for the project were expected to climb in the wake of Hurricane Milton, and ownership was going to be on the hook for most of it as the projected opening date was delayed from 2028 to 2029.

The Rays had until March 31 to complete a checklist of obligations that would have unlocked public funding for the project, which mayor Ken Welch had publicly urged them to follow through on.

Sternberg instead bailed, opting to return to square one.

"After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment," Sternberg wrote. "A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision. Our commitment to the vitality and success of the Rays organization is unwavering. We continue to focus on finding a ballpark solution that serves the best interests of our region, Major League Baseball and out organization."

Sternberg reaffirmed that the City of St. Petersburg is advancing plans to repair Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 regular season. The Rays will play their 2025 home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field – the New York Yankees' spring training park – in the meantime.

In gratitude for the continued support from our fans and community. pic.twitter.com/vVGHn6nrAA

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) March 13, 2025

Reports surfaced this week that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners have started pressuring Sternberg into selling the Rays. There are supposedly potential buyers who want to keep the franchise in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, per recent reports, rather than threaten to pack up and relocate like the Athletics did in Oakland.

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