ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The winding road that has been the Tampa Bay Rays pursuit of a new stadium in the Bay area, specifically St. Petersburg, may have reached a conclusion Thursday as team owner Stuart Sternberg announced he “cannot move forward” with the previously agreed upon deal.
The team was facing a March 31 deadline to provide financial paperwork to move the deal forward.
“After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment,” Sternberg said.
Under their current contract with the city of St. Petersburg, the Rays would play two more seasons at their existing ballpark after it is repaired.
Beyond that, the team’s future in the Tampa Bay area is uncertain.
So...how did we reach this point? A quick look:
This week
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Rays officials had not been clear about their intentions. City and officials had encouraged the team to follow through on the previous stadium deal and Historic Gas Plant redevelopment.
The St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP called on the city to honor and move forward with the Gas Plant District redevelopment plan.
March 2025
This latest news on the years-long Rays stadium saga comes as multiple groups have come forward in recent days saying they are prepared to purchase the team and pursue a local stadium deal.
The latest group is being led by Dex Imaging CEO Dan Doyle Jr., who reportedly pulled out of a previous process to buy the Rays in 2023. Attorney Carter McCain is representing another group of investors mostly outside of Florida and former New York Yankees minority owner Joe Molloy is leading a Tampa-based group, according to our partners at the Tampa Bay Times.
February 2025
Mayor Ken Welch spoke about the deal during his State of the City address in February, blaming the holdup entirely on the Rays.
"The only thing we need to move forward ... is for the Rays to honor the agreement that we signed just six months ago," Welch said. "I remain hopeful that that will happen. I also believe in transparency, so to the citizens of St. Pete, let me be clear: As I've stated throughout this process, this plan can only be successful with partnership."
December 2024
Tampa Bay Rays officials say they would like a repaired Tropicana Field being their home for the 2026 season.
In a Dec. 30 letter to St. Petersburg City Administrator Rob Gerdes, Rays president Matt Silverman said that the team had been open to considering a settlement that would buy the city out of its obligation to repair the ballpark.
In mid-December, Pinellas commissioners approved bonds to finance a new stadium for the Rays.
The 5-2 vote unlocks $312 million in funding the county had pledged for the new ballpark. This was the third time the Rays bond vote has gone before the commission since October.
Dec. 12: St. Pete OKs pre-construction costs for damaged Tropicana Field; County commissioners hold workshop on deal
Early December: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred met Monday with Pinellas County Chairwoman Kathleen Peters and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch to express his desire to resolve recent disputes and keep the team in Tampa Bay.
the team released a statement in the wake of that meeting.
“We anticipate that the Pinellas County Commission will authorize the bonds at their next meeting. As we stated in our letter three weeks ago, we remain ready to work with all key stakeholders to fill the funding gap their delay has created," Rays president Matt Silverman said.
November 2024
The Tampa Bay Rays, without Tropicana Field available next season because of Hurricane Milton damage, will play their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
A damage report released this week indicates repairs would run past $55 million and not be completed before the 2026 season.
Nov. 25: 'Categorically false': County pushes back against the Rays' claims and demands a decision
Nov. 22: 'This deal doesn't work anymore:' Rays future in St. Pete takes more hits with city council votes
Nov. 21: Rays president says new park deal is dead; St. Pete Council then reverses course on Trop repairs
Nov.18: PHOTOS: Rays release post-Milton photos of inside Trop
October 2024
Oct. 31: City approves $6.5M to clean up and protect Rays stadium after Hurricane Milton
Oct. 9: Tropicana Field roof damaged by Hurricane Milton
Aug. 2024
Citing 'unintended response,' St. Pete mayor rescinds bonuses given after Rays deal
July 2024
Pinellas County commissioners agree, by 5-2 vote, to help fund new Rays stadium
2023
Sept. 19, 2023: 'Major League Baseball is here to stay': Rays announce new stadium
A decade-long odyssey involving the Tampa Bay Rays, the City of St. Petersburg, Hillsborough County, Major League Baseball and even Montreal, among other parties, appears to be nearing an end. The Rays, joined by officials with the city of St. Pete and Pinellas County, announced on Tuesday plans for a new stadium to be built near the current Tropicana Field.
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch speaks during a Sept. 2023 stadium announcement. (Angie Angers/Spectrum Bay News 9)
Early 2023
Former St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman said that he previously allowed the Rays to search for sites in Hillsborough County because he was confident St. Pete was the best place for a new ballpark and he wanted Sternberg to come to that conclusion too.
“I felt like a deal couldn’t have gotten done until the Rays believed it too,” he said. “It has been a long road but we’re at the point now because we had to go through that with (Rick) Baker, Foster and me.”
Former Mayor Bill Foster was the mayor in 2010 when the Rays were pushing for a new waterfront stadium at the Al Lang Field site along the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg. The former mayor said they never had a term sheet because Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg would not commit to a dollar amount.
“Mr. Sternberg was non-committal when it came to how much he would pay for a stadium in St. Pete,” he said. “This whole idea with the redevelopment of Al Lang trying to fit this Major League Baseball stadium in five acres where there’s no transportation, no parking, no infrastructure, that was a disaster.”
2022
The Tampa Bay Rays’ proposed plan to split the season between Florida and Montreal has been rejected by Major League Baseball.
Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg announced the news on Thursday.
“Today’s news is flat-out deflating,” Sternberg said.
The idea of playing in both the Tampa Bay area and Montreal has been discussed over the past several years after attempts to build a new full-time ballpark locally failed.
2021
St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman announced that Midtown Development has been selected to redevelop the 86-acre Tropicana Field site.
This came after years of talk, rumors and speculation about stadium sites at a variety of locations in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco counties and even some mentioning Orlando.
July 2019
The Tampa Bay Rays have been given permission by Major League Baseball to explore splitting future seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal.
2018
July: The Rays announced they would vacate Tropicana Field and relocate to the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, between 15th Street and Channelside Drive from east to west, and between Fourth Avenue and Adamo Drive from north to south.
By December, the project was called off.
2009
May: The idea of a waterfront stadium at the Al Lang site quickly came and went.
The sail-designed stadium targeted for the Bayshore Drive/1st Street South area was supposed to have a sail style design with an open air vista down left field to center field.
2005
Since Stuart Sternberg took control of the Rays in October 2005, the once-struggling franchise has been a success on the field but not at the box office.
Despite reaching the World Series in 2008 and 2020, the Rays have ranked annually near the bottom in attendance. The Rays averaged about 9,500 for home games last season, 28th in the majors and ahead of only Miami and Oakland.
Sternberg purchased controlling interest in the Rays in May 2004 from original owner Vince Naimoli. He became managing general partner in October 2005.