Tampa Bay Rays Celebrate New Stadium Deal’s Completion

The Tampa Bay Rays have been on a quest for a new stadium for nearly two decades. Their quest is finally over. The Pinellas County Commission voted 5-2 to approve more than $300 million in county funding on Tuesday. This means construction of the projected $1.3 billion stadium can begin in St. Petersburg near the current site of Tropicana Field.

The plan calls to break ground in January 2025, with hopes to be ready for Opening Day in 2028. The Rays are set to pick up $700 million of the tab for the stadium. Pinellas County is poised to contribute $312.5 million, and the city of St. Petersburg will kick in $287.5 million, per the Tampa Bay Times .

The Rays didn’t waste anytime celebrating this monumental vote on social media, with a little help from former Rays All-Star Evan Longoria:

“This is quite a momentous day for our franchise, our fans and the entire Tampa Bay region — the Rays are here to stay in St. Petersburg,” Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. “We look forward to building the best neighborhood ballpark in Major League Baseball, which will blend in beautifully with a world-class, mixed-use real estate project that honors the past and looks toward the future.”

It’s an exciting time for Rays’ ownership and fans alike, however, the Rays have ranked in the bottom five in MLB attendance every year since 2011. Only time will tell if the public, who are about to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for this stadium, will show up to fill the new 30,000-seat stadium.

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