New Downtown St. Petersburg Stadium Deal Set to be Introduced by Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to make a big announcement on Tuesday concerning the development of a brand new stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. The brand new stadium will probably be situated close to the present Tropicana Area website as a part of the redevelopment of the Historic Gasoline Plant District. It’s anticipated to be open for the 2028 season.

Preliminary info means that the brand new stadium may have a set dome roof and a man-made turf subject. It’s estimated to have a seating capability of round 30,000 and value over $1.2 billion. The funding for the undertaking will come from contributions from the staff, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County.

Rays principal proprietor Stuart Sternberg has expressed optimism about reaching a take care of town and county by the tip of the yr. He has additionally acknowledged that the staff expects to finance no less than half of the stadium undertaking and is searching for buyers to contribute to the remaining value in change for shares within the staff.

The brand new stadium settlement will present the staff with a brand new residence after their 30-year lease at Tropicana Area expires in 2027. Staff officers anticipate that the brand new stadium will result in elevated revenues by means of greater attendance and extra sponsorship offers. These elevated revenues will permit them to enhance services and improve participant payroll.

This announcement brings an finish to a 16-year seek for a brand new stadium, which included proposed websites in each Tampa and St. Petersburg. Regardless of exploring the opportunity of constructing a stadium in Tampa, negotiations didn’t progress far sufficient to ascertain a financing bundle. Moreover, a plan to separate residence video games between Montreal and Tampa was rejected by Main League Baseball officers.

The announcement ought to put an finish to hypothesis in regards to the staff probably relocating to cities like Nashville or Las Vegas. Additional particulars in regards to the Rays’ announcement are presently not obtainable.