Things are quiet in Tampa Bay.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claims that he has been assured by Major League Baseball that his state will remain a two-MLB team state no matter what happens with the Tampa Bay Rays franchise. There doesn’t seem to be much news coming out of the Tampa Bay market concerning the future of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise. The team is playing in Tampa this year and will probably go back to a renovated St. Petersburg stadium with a new roof for three years, 2026, 2027 and an extra year, 2028. That would be a long enough time span to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg or Tampa. There is also a group in Orlando who would like to swoop in and but the Rays business from Stu Sternberg and his partners and take the team east to central Florida.
If anyone in the Tampa Bay market or in central Florida who wants a stadium, that person should not be looking at Tallahassee for financial aid to help pay for the stadium. DeSantis did say that state money could be made available for infrastructure like entrance and exit ramps near the stadium. DeSantis said the state will “be helpful within the confines of what’s appropriate for taxpayers to be doing.” But state spending “will not involve at our level giving money for the construction of a stadium.” DeSantis added if a local government wants to chip in money they should go for it. “if someone buys the team and they want to build a nice new stadium, they can work with whatever local city and county if they want.” DeSantis also said Major League Baseball told him they “are not allowing this team to leave Florida. It makes baseball look poorly that they couldn’t hack it in really big markets.” The Rays franchise stadium saga continues.
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