Rays Get Final Approval for New $1.4B Stadium; Venue to Open for 2028 MLB Season

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIJuly 30, 2024

Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images

It’s full steam ahead for the Tampa Bay Rays to get a new stadium after Pinellas County, Florida commissioners voted 5-2 to put $312.5 million in tourist development tax dollars “toward the design and building” of a ballpark, per Jack Evans of the Tampa Bay Times.

The stadium would be the main attraction of a “mixed-use development” in downtown St. Petersburg. Building would begin in 2025, with a goal to be ready by Opening Day of the 2028 season.

“The county’s projections for the project include more than $400 million in total economic output and 15,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in taxes,” Evans added.

The stadium is expected to cost $1.3 billion, with the Rays’ coverage coming in at $700 million in addition to cost overruns, per Evans. The St. Petersburg City Council approved its portion of the project, including $287.5 million for the stadium, less than two weeks ago.

Front Office Sports provided more details.

Front Office Sports @FOSSt. Petersburg City Council has voted to approve the Rays’ new $1.3 billion ballpark.

• Capacity: 30,000
• Fixed pavilion roof
• “Baseball’s most intimate setting” with 70% of seats in the lower 2-3 levelshttps://t.co/bqQ3mYQ0Pk pic.twitter.com/kYfFE1WAnQ

The ballpark will be part of a $6.5 billion redevelopment project in the Historic Gas Plant district, “including homes, hotels, office space, a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida and an entertainment venue,” per Evans.

The Rays have been at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida since the team’s 1998 debut. The stadium routinely sits at or near the bottom of annual MLB stadium rankings, and the team usually sits near the bottom of the attendance list, including third-to-last in 2024.

There had been chatter of the team relocating, but that appears to be put to bed now with all momentum moving toward the Rays staying put.