{"id":143008,"date":"2026-02-04T05:55:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143008\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T05:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:55:06","slug":"tampa-bay-rays-withdraw-from-planned-1-3-billion-ballpark-in-st-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143008\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays withdraw from planned $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Tampa Bay Rays withdrew Thursday from a $1.3 billion project<\/a> to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal\u2019s cost.<\/p>\n

The team issued a statement by principal owner Stuart Sternberg saying \u201ca series of events\u201d in October, which included severe damage to the the Trop and financing delays, led to what he called \u201cthis difficult decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment,\u201d Sternberg said.<\/p>\n

Displaced from the Trop in St. Petersburg, the Rays are set to play their home games this season across Tampa Bay at the New York Yankees\u2019 spring training home, 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field<\/a>. Meanwhile, repairs are envisioned to the Trop, including replacing its roof shredded by Hurricane Milton, that would have it ready for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cMajor League Baseball remains committed to finding a permanent home for the club in the Tampa Bay region for their fans and the local community,\u201d MLB said in a statement. \u201cCommissioner (Rob) Manfred understands the disappointment of the St. Petersburg community from today\u2019s announcement, but he will continue to work with elected officials, community leaders, and Rays officials to secure the club\u2019s future in the Tampa Bay region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trop opened in 1990 and has been the Rays\u2019 home since they took the field in 1998. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, a driving force behind what was dubbed the \u201cHere To Stay\u201d initiative aimed at keeping the Rays in the city for another 30 years, said the decision was disappointing but \u201cit is not unexpected.\u201d It is also possible the Rays could be sold, he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf in the coming months a new owner, who demonstrates a commitment to honoring their agreements and our community priorities emerges, we will consider a partnership to keep baseball in St. Pete. But we will not put our city\u2019s progress on hold as we await a collaborative and community-focused baseball partner,\u201d Welch said. <\/p>\n

Under their current contract with the city of St. Petersburg, the Rays would play three more seasons at their existing ballpark after it is repaired<\/a>. Beyond that, the team\u2019s future in the Tampa Bay area is uncertain. MLB and the Rays could evaluate attendance and fan interest during the team\u2019s season at Steinbrenner Field as they consider alternate sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to play on the Tampa side could give insights into the Tampa Bay market as a whole that could be useful for the club moving forward,\u201d Manfred said during a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

For now, the Rays are set to return to the Trop after a year across the bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City of St. Petersburg is currently advancing plans to restore Tropicana Field for the 2026 season,\u201d Sternberg said. \u201cWe are thankful for their efforts and are excited to return to our home field next spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed 30,000-seat stadium is a signature piece of a broader $6.5 billion revitalization project known as the Historic Gas Plant District<\/a>, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out by construction of the Trop and an interstate highway spur.<\/p>\n

Supporters say the development would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city\u2019s downtown, with plans for a Black history museum, affordable housing, entertainment venues, plus office and retail space \u2014 and the promise of thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n

That broader project, counting on the Rays ballpark to be an anchor, is also in limbo with this decision.<\/p>\n

The Rays had faced a March 31 deadline to decide whether to continue with the new ballpark project. Under the agreement previously approved by the city and Pinellas County, the governments would cover about half the cost of the $1.3 billion stadium, with the Rays and their development partner Hines covering the rest, including any cost overruns.<\/p>\n

The Rays previously said a delayed vote in October on the final financing plan by the Pinellas County Commission was a factor increasing projected costs beyond the team\u2019s funding ability. The city already has approved its financing.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/MLB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Tampa Bay Rays withdrew Thursday from a $1.3 billion project to construct…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3816,1882,477,2346,3817,3823,3821,110,199,66235,135,3815,137,136,1110],"class_list":["post-143008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-baseball","tag-fl-state-wire","tag-general-news","tag-ken-welch","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports","tag-st-petersburg","tag-stuart-sternberg","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-u-s-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}