Major League Baseball last expanded in 1998. For years, commissioner Rob Manfred maintained that the league would not consider expansion until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays resolved their ballpark situations.
In September, the A’s played their final game in Oakland, heading to Sacramento and finally Las Vegas the following year. In July, the Rays and their hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, agreed to build a new stadium there, scheduled to open in 2028.
In the wake of Hurricane Milton, which left the Rays’ current home, Tropicana Field, unavailable for the 2025 season, city and county officials focused on rebuilding the area after the storm. They also delayed a vote on bond financing for the proposed stadiums, and newly elected officials had second thoughts about the project.
Rays owner Stewart Sternberg responded to the Tampa Bay Times on Saturday. He said: “It is necessary to completely move the city lights It’s not an unpleasant conclusion.“.
If Sternberg makes good on his threat, cities awaiting the MLB expansion process could struggle to attract the Rays.
Montreal previously discussed the concept of the Rays splitting the season between Florida and Canada. Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh have expressed interest in expansion, and those cities would allow the Rays to remain in the same geographic area.
Austin, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Portland, San Jose and Mexico City have also expressed interest. MLB is unlikely to put another team in Oakland anytime soon.
The Rays agreed this week to become the second team to play the 2025 season in a minor league stadium. The Rays play near Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and the A’s play at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.
The city of St. Petersburg has yet to decide whether to approve an estimated $56 million in storm damage repairs for Tropicana Field, which would allow the Rays to play in 2026 and 2027.
The county has yet to approve bond financing for the new gym and postponed a vote in October after the storm. In this month’s election, two stadium supporters on the county commission were replaced by stadium skeptics.
“Last month, the County Commission changed our agreement by not approving their bond as they promised,” Sternberg said. “This action sends a clear message that we have lost the county as a partner.
“The future of baseball in Tampa Bay is less certain after this vote.”
The search for a stadium for the Rays has taken the better part of two decades, and a few more months won’t necessarily affect the outcome, whether under the current agreement or a renegotiation with the city and the city. Sternberg told the Tampa Bay Times that he would try again and again before moving the equipment.
“We’re going to spend everything we can here until we get to that,” he said.
