At a Florida Economic Club meeting Wednesday evening, Ferguson discussed the Rays\u2019 future in St. Petersburg amidst negotiations to build a new stadium in Tampa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Florida Economic Club<\/a>, founded in 2009, focuses on fostering interaction between community professionals in different Florida cities, according to the organization\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why you would want to be over in Tampa and fight with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Lightning over sponsorships,\u201d Ferguson said at the gathering. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to have your own background and city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Rays\u2019 owners want a public financing agreement for a Tampa stadium by June 1, as they hope to open the proposed facility by 2029. Hillsborough County officials have said that this deadline cannot be met.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ferguson added that he is optimistic about the team staying in the city.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tropicana Field, once known as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was already open by the time the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were established in 1998. It first welcomed guests in 1990. In fact, the goal was to attract a major league team. Before becoming the home of the Rays, the facility hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field\u2019s roof in 2024, the City of St. Petersburg was obligated to repair the stadium to major league specifications. The cost was over $55 million.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Tropicana Field recently went through extensive renovations after experiencing damage from Hurricane Milton in 2024.<\/p>\n During the 2025 season, the Tampa Bay Rays played at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees\u2019 spring training home in Tampa. This, Ferguson and other business leaders agreed, had a profound financial impact on St. Petersburg companies and dining establishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe energy level was terrible,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you have baseball, you get new people coming in all the time and they see the place and their surroundings and they go \u2018it\u2019s really nice here. I\u2019ll think about moving here.\u2019\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tampa stadium deal, if approved, would cost more than $2 billion. Ferguson believes it would be more economical to continue to repair Tropicana Field.\u00a0<\/p>\n To exemplify, he discussed the extensive renovations at the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 stadium, Rogers Centre in Canada. The facility, which opened in 1989, was modernized for a new generation of fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ferguson argued that if the Rays owners, City and Pinellas County invest more capital in Tropicana Field, they can save a significant sum of money. The upper deck could be better utilized, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cYou don\u2019t need a new stadium,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cYou need to redo that one, which they\u2019re already doing. So, it\u2019s common sense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_4825-1024x580.jpeg\")
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