(St. Petersburg) The damage caused by the passage of the hurricane Milton at Tropicana Field and political issues mean the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium is very unlikely to be ready in time for the 2028 season, and could even be in jeopardy, the Florida team said Tuesday.
Rays officials said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already invested $50 million in groundwork for the $1.3 billion stadium and will not could no longer continue their efforts due to delays in obtaining subsidies from taxpayers for the realization of the project.
“The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events,” read the letter, which was signed by club co-presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman, who noted in passing that the project had been previously approved by the County Commission and the City of St. Petersburg.
“As we have made clear at every stage of this process, delivering the stadium in 2029 would result in significantly higher costs that we are unable to absorb on our own,” the letter added.
This chain of events began after the hurricane Milton crushed the roof of Tropicana Field on October 9, forcing the Rays to play the 2025 major league season at a temporary home, Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa.
Then, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote scheduled for October 29 that would have allowed the Rays to obtain subsidies, thereby derailing the timelines for the delivery of the new 30,000-seat stadium.
The commission, which now includes two newly elected members, voted Tuesday to postpone consideration of funding obligations until its Dec. 17 meeting.
“We know we’ll be playing at Steinbrenner Field in 2025, but we don’t know where we’ll be after that,” Auld said in an interview.
