{"id":160079,"date":"2026-02-18T17:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160079\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:41:18","slug":"tampa-bay-rays-release-early-renderings-of-proposed-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160079\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays release early renderings of proposed stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Tampa Bay Rays professional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/baseball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">baseball<\/a> franchise has released renderings for a proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/stadiums\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stadium<\/a> and mixed-use district with design by Gensler and Populous for Tampa in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/florida\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida<\/a>, USA.<\/p>\n<p>American architecture studio <a href=\"https:\/\/populous.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Populous<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/baynews9.com\/fl\/tampa\/news\/2026\/02\/05\/tampa-bay-rays-release-new-renderings-of-proposed-ballpark\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">listed<\/a> as a design partner in the design of the new ballpark, which would be realised as the league&#8217;s smallest with a seating capacity of just 31,000, if it is approved for a proposed 2029 completion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gensler.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gensler<\/a> is the architect of the master plan, a comprehensive scheme that integrates parts of the local Hillsborough College&#8217;s campus into a new neighbourhood called the &#8220;Champions Quarter&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Details of the plan include a redevelopment of the college&#8217;s 113-acre Dale Mabry Campus.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2298167 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tampa-bay-rays-stadium-concept-populous_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Tampa Bay stadium renderings\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>The Tampa Bay Rays MLB team has released proposed renderings for a new inland stadium<\/p>\n<p>Renderings show a stadium with an elliptical arch supported by a gridded ceiling structure and covered in translucent material. The team is hoping to engender a distinctive gameday experience framed by a transparent roof canopy that repeats the diamond shape of the playing surface.<\/p>\n<p>The ceiling structure cantilevers over the facades of the stadium, which will feature a mix of curtain wall and terraced facades that may allow the stadium to blend in with the proposed adjacent structures.<\/p>\n<p>These include several smaller built structures, indoor planting, and fan-oriented &#8220;celebration areas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The renderings depict a comprehensive environment lined by the public retail promenades that are now common to the typology. These provide a pedestrianised edge to the footprint of the stadium, which is serviced by open facades on either side of its vertices.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2298170 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tampa-bay-rays-stadium-concept-populous_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"tampa bay stadium\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>It includes a structure with a glass ceiling surrounded by retail promenades<\/p>\n<p>It emerges 15 months after Tampa Bay&#8217;s current home in St Petersburg, Tropicana Field, suffered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/photos\/2026\/02\/13\/tampa-bay-rays-tropicana-field-photos-hurricane-damage-repaired\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">damage<\/a> to its PTFE membrane roof as a result of high winds during Hurricane Milton.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed location would put the stadium well away from the water, inland from the current coastal location.<\/p>\n<p>The Rays ownership group said it will &#8220;continue to evolve based on further study of the site and ballpark design concepts as well as input from local leaders and residents&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing a long-rumoured exit from the city, the new ownership group is confident that having a new &#8220;forever home&#8221; will ensure the team&#8217;s permanent presence in Tampa.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2298168 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tampa-bay-rays-stadium-concept-populous_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Tampa Bay Rays new stadium\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>A whole district is planned for around the stadium, with a proposed site abutting a college<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We believe with conviction that we&#8217;re going to be able to create a world-class work-live-learn-play development here in Tampa Bay,&#8221; the team&#8217;s CEO, Ken Babby said in January.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our community can be assured, however, that we want the ballpark and district design to reflect the voices of the people who live, work, study, and operate businesses here,&#8221; Babby added.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2023\/03\/03\/the-tampa-edition-hotel-ian-schrager\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"191\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tampa-edition_ian-schrager_dezeen_sq2-191x191.jpg\" class=\"excludeLightbox wp-post-image\" alt=\"Marble staircase at The Tampa Edition\" decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"  \/><\/p>\n<p> Tampa &#8220;about to explode&#8221; as a destination, says Edition hotels founder Ian Schrager\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The proposed scheme, which has no set price as of today, will reportedly be &#8220;100 per cent privately financed.<\/p>\n<p>A similar district-sized proposal made by its then-owners for the Historic Gas Plant District in St Petersburg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/44236578\/tampa-bay-rays-not-moving-forward-new-stadium-plans\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">failed<\/a> to receive public backing for its $1.3 billion cost before the team was sold last year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2298169 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tampa-bay-rays-stadium-concept-populous_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Tampa Bay Rays stadium design\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>The team is working with studios such as Gensler and Populous on the design<\/p>\n<p>American professional baseball is revamping its Major League facilities ahead of an anticipated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/maurybrown\/2025\/08\/18\/as-manfred-touts-geographic-realignment-with-mlb-expansion-heres-how-it-could-look\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">expansion<\/a> over the next decade, led by a BIG and HNTB-designed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/06\/25\/big-las-vegas-armadillo-stadium-the-athletics-ground-breaking\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;armadillo-shaped&#8221; home for the Las Vegas franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Populous has been leading much of the stadium construction underway worldwide, with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/08\/20\/construction-images-stadium-steel-nfl-buffalo-bills-populous\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">in-progress stadium for the Buffalo Bills NFL team<\/a> and with its work on t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2024\/08\/21\/worlds-largest-football-stadium-grand-stade-hassan-ii-morocco\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he world&#8217;s largest football stadium in Morocco<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The images are courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Rays professional baseball franchise has released renderings for a proposed stadium and mixed-use district with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3816,28,73439,50087,14261,42305,62692,76703,135,137,136,1617],"class_list":["post-160079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-baseball","tag-florida","tag-gensler","tag-populous","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-sectionnews","tag-stadiums","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160079","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=160079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}