El MLB Commissioner Rob Manfredwarned that the Tampa Bay Rays y los Oakland Athletics they need to reach agreements soon to have new stadiums or else the possibility of their being relocated to other cities will remain open.
“There is urgency regarding Tampa. There has to be a resolution in the Tampa region.” Tampa Bay for the Rays“, explained the commissioner during the press conference after a meeting of owners.
The problem for Rays is that your lease on the Tropicana Field, de St. Petersburg, Floridaexpires after the 2027 season. The team has played at this course since its inaugural season in 1998.
While the team’s management had attempted to split their season between Florida y Montrealbut this proposal was rejected by the league.
“Obviously the end of that lease is a tough deadline. You have to keep in mind that stadiums take a while to build, don’t they?” Manfred said.
“So we’re getting to the point where wherever you are in the region that has an interest in having 162 baseball games, you need to be with the club. Rays are eager to do something and see if an agreement can be reached,” he said.
Therefore, the commissioner reiterated that the team’s relocation was a possibility: “Right now, I’m focused on Tampa” and emphasized: “right now.” “I think a great man once said that all good things must end at some point. And right now we’re focused on Tampa“.
The problem with the stadium of the Athletics
Meanwhile, the Athletics have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968 and its lease expires at the end of the 2024 season. The team has considered building a new stadium in Howard Terminal and they are working with the mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaafto obtain the necessary approvals.
“There is some really significant activity in Oakland. The political process has moved forward significantly,” Manfred said.
“I met with the mayor Schaaf In the past week. You have done a very good job in moving the process forward in Oakland. But California’s political processes are their own kind of animal. There is work to be done. I think the A’s have wisely continued to look for the Las Vegas alternative. We like Las Vegas as a market.”
And added, “Again, it’s in the same category as Tampa. We need a solution in both markets and the time has come for that solution.”
In fact, the “game city“was the option for the NFL Raidersafter they couldn’t get this deal to have their own stadium.
In addition, relocation is an alternative for two of the places that have the lowest attendances in the MLB: Oakland averages the lowest innings this season with 8,283 fans on average and the Rays are 25th out of 30 with 13,740, ahead of Miami, Cleveland y Pittsburgh.
