The Tampa Bay Rays ‘ two-decade search for a new home has come to an end owing to Pinellas County authorities ‘ vote of approval.
Soon Tuesday evening, the state’s percentage voted 5 to 2 in favor of committing$ 312.5 million towards the building for a 30, 000-seat fixed-roof facility as part of a wider efforts to redevelop St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District. Additionally, a final decision was passed to approve area reconstruction funds.
The Rays, who will reportedly commit$ 700 million, plan to open the doors of the$ 1.4 billion venue by Opening Day of the 2028 MLB season. Their present rent for Tropicana Field, which will be torn over after the new facility opens, expires after the 2027 time.

” This is quite a monumental moment for our company, our fans and the whole Tampa Bay region—the Rays are here to remain in St. Petersburg,’ ‘ Tampa Bay Rays principal operator Stuart Sternberg said in press release.’ ” We are eager to construct the best location rough in Major League Baseball.”
The county’s vote comes nearly two weeks after the St. Petersburg City Council vetoed a budget of only$ 287.5 million for facility construction and infrastructure, with$ 130 million going toward constructing bridges and drains.
The project’s current name,” Gas Plant Stadium,” is intended to serve as the heart of the Historic Gas Plant District. It will be constructed following to Tropicana Field. Once home to a predominantly African American community before it was razed to make means for” The Trop”, the Historic Gas Plant District is set to include private units ( including top housing ), a 750-room resort, 1.5 million square feet of office space, a library, a building for either daycare or school, and a museum.
The approval vote was n’t going to be a grand slam, even though the elected commissioners of Pinellas County did n’t seem to be as opposed to the deal as the St. Petersburg City Council. According to a July 25 story in the Tampa Bay Times, two commissioners ( both Republicans ) had significant questions that needed answers. Dave Eggers was concerned about St. Petersburg’s ability to protect its beaches from hurricanes by selling the property to the Rays for less than market value. After the stadium’s funding is approved, Chris Latvala pondered whether Rays owner Stuart Sternberg would attempt to sell the team, the stadium’s development rights, or both.
The franchise, which was founded as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998, has spent the last 20 years at Tropicana Field. In an effort to entice other MLB franchises, the stadium’s name, Florida Suncoast Dome, was established in 1990. The first team to be recruited to move to central Florida was the Chicago White Sox, but Illinois and Chicago officials agreed to pay for the construction of the “new” Comiskey Park ( now Guaranteed Rate Field ), which opened in 1991.
In 1992, Tampa-area investors purchased the San Francisco Giants with the intention of moving them south until the relocation was blocked by other National League team owners, including the late Wayne Huizenga, who owned Miami’s NL expansion franchise, the Florida Marlins, that began play in 1993.

The city’s NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, spent their second and third seasons at the stadium, which was renamed the” ThunderDome” and reconfigured for hockey, until what is now Amalie Arena opened in 1996.
One of the most frequent criticisms of the ballpark is that it is too far from the majority of Rays fans and lacks reliable modes of transportation to make the trip across the Bay from Tampa worthwhile because” The Trop” is located in St. Petersburg and not Tampa itself. The drab interior, slanted roof, and notorious catwalks that converted some home runs to ground-rule doubles have left Tropicana Field with a reputation as one of the worst ballparks in MLB.
There had been a number of false starts in creating a replacement for” The Trop,” most notably the Ybor City project in Tampa, which failed to win important government approval in 2018. In 2022, MLB rejected the Rays ‘ widely reviled” Sister City” plan, where the team would have split its home schedule between St. Petersburg and Montreal, bringing baseball back to the Canadian city for the first time since the Expos moved to Washington, D. C., in 2006.
With 15, 000 fewer seats available than” The Trop,” The Gas Plant Stadium will have modern amenities like those found in nearly every other MLB stadium and better viewlines. Tropicana Field, which opened with over 45, 000 seats, has an official capacity of 25, 025 seats after the Rays closed its upper decks.
The Rays have been in sell mode ahead of MLB’s 6 p.m. Eastern trade deadline despite sitting 3.5 games out of a wild card spot prior to their Tuesday night game. Drawing$ 280 million in total revenue in 2023, the Rays rank 28th in Sportico’s MLB franchise valuations at$ 1.33 billion.
The vote on Tuesday afternoon was for stadium funding, with later in the day’s update clarifying that the first two paragraphs of the story specifying that the vote was for greater redevelopment district funding. The Rays owner’s statement has also been updated.