No ball at Tropicana Field in 2026; new ballpark deal dies: Rays

[@ivannevarez8478]

I think people in Tampa area have more important things like taking care of their own homes. Then worrying about some billionaires toy team.

[@Kaaaaammmm]

Clearly, Tropicana had the second worst attendance in 2024, in the MLB.

[@greg33770]

Exactly !

[@chriscole4538]

Rays ownership is a joke

[@JohnSanJuan-zp1ed]

Bad Freaking News!

[@greg33770]

Exactly !

[@irwinsaltzman979]

So people cannot afford to fix their homes, pay for insurance and afford flood remediation. BUT pay 300-400 million in bonds to assist a billionaire ?

[@brianallyn5308]

Maybe you should spend 2 minutes to research how the bonds work and who actually owns the stadium (give you a hint, rays dont own the stadium, county does and leases it to them, so why would rays pay for a new stadium that they cannot own)

[@greg33770]

Right On ! F the Rays and MLB !

[@ronclark9724]

The pro team owners know the stadiums hold NO value, it is the land under them that has VALUE... A stadium without a tenant paying rent is worthless. Cities demolish stadiums quickly after losing their tenants as the city don't want to spend another CENT to sustain and maintain them. These team owners didn't get rich owing worthless assets. It is the fans who enjoy the stadiums, the teams just lease them as a price of doing business. If a city wants a pro team, built, maintain, and lease a stadium. If a city won't, another city WILL...

[@York-Isles-63]

This situation is an absolute mess

[@dce9018]

Property taxes are too high in the city of St Pete and this is why chasing a sports team with millions of dollars. Tear it down and build affordable housing.

[@stevem-h5e]

CORPORATE WELFARE before SOCIAL WELFARE! USA! USA! USA!

[@pm5206]

Bed tax is not the same as property tax. Understand the difference? The promise by the county is the tourist tax money is used. Not regular tax money.

[@dce9018]

​@@pm5206321 million from the county and 287 million from the city. Who pays if those amounts aren't reached?

[@sheevson7458]

@@pm5206 It doesn't matter. No corporate welfare. Use the tax money for the people not for garbage corporations including sports. Also, who believes government would stick to their word? Blind, government and corporation-loving fool.

[@greg33770]

Stu Sternberg can take his baseball and shove it where the sun don't shine !

[@chuckdameron5626]

Great do not give money to a billion dollar owner if he wants a new ball park let him pay for it st Pete got to fix the hurricane damage first not worry about some baseball team

[@sirchi8731]

I disagree. County owns the stadium fix it. Billionaires dontnget rich by spending their own money. They spend otherw

[@brianallyn5308]

Maybe you should spend 2 minutes to research how the bonds work and who actually owns the stadium (give you a hint, rays dont own the stadium, county does and leases it to them, so why would rays pay for a new stadium that they cannot own)

[@greg33770]

Right On Chuck !

[@Hiltegard]

Goodbye Rays. Locals have known for years how difficult the Pinellas County government is to work with regardless of the issue or business with them. Pinellas County government has made it their silent motto to be difficult when at all possible. Now the Rays officials haven't exactly been the easiest to deal with either... So I see both going their separate ways. So, goodbye Tampa Bay Rays, Hello new Utah based MLB team.

[@stevem-h5e]

Wait a minute. You mean FEMA is not going to build a new stadium?

[@jeffreybanks0519]

Good news. Even when they field a good team, attendance is dismal. Any proposed bed tax should be used for county improvements and upgrades for much-needed infrastructure that directly benefits the local citizenry rather than some billionaire who only cares about filling his coffers more.

[@greg33770]

If it's such a good thing, why don't the Rays ownership and MLB fund the whole thing ?!

[@brianallyn5308]

Maybe you should spend 2 minutes to research how the bonds work and who actually owns the stadium (give you a hint, rays dont own the stadium, county does and leases it to them, so why would rays pay for a new stadium that they cannot own)

[@greg33770]

@@brianallyn5308 maybe you should realize what exactly what i wrote, it's all about the funding and who should pay for it.....I don't care where they build, no one is saying they have to build where they are at, if the rays and MLB think it's such a good idea, they can put their money where their mouth is !

[@petegurdal1844]

Good!!! What a waste of money!!! People can't afford the insurance, taxes, assessment fees and food, why would they pay for baseball!!!

[@greg33770]

Exactly !

[@stevenpoint822]

They Can MOVE TO MONTREAL or SALT LAKE CITY .. I Lost MY HOUSE BUT I’M NOT GETTING FUNDING TO REBUILD - $20.00 Parking / $8.00 Water / $8.00 Hotdogs / $6.00 Bag of Texas Roadhouse Peanuts .. AND NEVER A “PINELLAS COUNTY RESIDENT” Appreciation Day .. Them Move To Steinbrenner Field instead of BRIGHTHOUSE FIELD in Clearwater .. MOVE TO MONTREAL or SALT LAKE CITY

[@MH-fam]

Tampa is not an option can't afford another stadium when raymond james needs rebuilt

[@ToMaToEsGrOw]

To hell with it. Just remove the roof beams and the problem is solved. The rays are going to be passing out anyway next season with no dome.

[@Shortwheels316]

The Trop is built without the proper drainage to accommodate any type of rainfall

[@DaemonPix]

That stadium needs more than a new roof to start play again. Tampa Bay doesn't want the Rays and at this point they have much bigger items to worry about.

[@SteveSonoga]

The billionaire will find some other suckers to pay for his billion-dollar stadium. The billionaire class sure likes their welfare we keep paying for!

[@smitty5890]

Good ridden's to the Ray's. I won't miss them. Build affordable housing, fix the streets, replace old bridges and the waste plant. Renting and building a stadium to someone who can never fill it is just stupid. BYE BYE Rays, hope the door hits you on the way out !

[@kramalerav]

Look for ownership to sell the team in the next couple of years.

[@seanquinn4787]

They won't sell the team, they'll leave the area.

[@slapshot68]

The fans are devastated…..all 100 of them

[@TroyGoodwin]

After this upcoming season at Steinbrenner Park in Tampa, the rays will end up being relocated to Charlotte, N.C. and will end up becoming The Charlotte Rays.

[@davidlasdon457]

That's a fact of life

[@TroyGoodwin]

“Girls, Girls, Girls”…. Mrs. Garrett

[@alancharles4567]

Well the Rays spring training park is Charlotte Sports Park and that is in Charlotte County....... so the Charlotte Rays is the perfect name and location for them!

[@TroyGoodwin]

@@alancharles4567 No. I'm thinking about Charlotte, North Carolina!

[@gearsocfenix]

St pete just wants the $300 million relocation fee. The Rays own a large part of the land in the gas district which prevents redevelopment. St pete is also the one who lowered their insurance and now it is part of the reason for not being able to afford the repairs!

[@gradyg471]

It’s not worth it for the owners to invest in a community that doesn’t support the team .

[@BRC332]

Good! Stay in Tampa!

[@povertyspec9651]

The Rays will never play a game in St Pete again.

[@AdminLogistics.]

If Ken can somehow get this back on track, then he won’t be fired.

[@Raparee1000]

The Mayor of St Pete surely does have important things like picking up storm debrees cloging the streets. My son called the city and said that they had already piched up his street when in reality they have not picked up one house in his neighborhood. However the mayor who has made a mess re the Rays continues to be incompetent and may be the reason the Rays leave the area. Seems he should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time but we know he and his administration are incompetent.

[@dbrew2u]

Supporting grown Men in their never ending endeavor to play childrens games . Has grown to be extremely expensive for both the Tax Payers and Customers.

[@Quis85]

At this point! Especially if I'm the owner. I'm done and if all goes well in Tampa! Just move to Tampa like all the other venues we've had! At some point, we have to look at ourselves! We've had many venues come and go and go and have success elsewhere after leaving! Things didn't get worse for them. I'm starting to think the issue is us! I'm getting annoyed. I believe everyone else is as well. Lighting left and still doing great! Tampa Bay storm left and was doing good until the entire league just said they done! Fyi had nothing to do with the TampaBay area. At some point, we have to look at ourselves.

[@michaeloptv]

It’s over Tampa/St Pete. I mean they won’t leave this year but basically it’s like Cleveland to Baltimore. The deal is done and you are just sitting on a year until the Rays figure out WHICH city (Nashville?) they are moving to.

[@louieflash7190]

Ybor City plan to the rescue. The stadium needs to be in Tampa. This is why the Rays are playing next season at the Tampa minor league park.

[@FranklinLongallnitelong22]

Why should a team stay in an area that don't get the support from the area fans in the first place?

[@Gunnar_Blackburn]

Cya losers. St Pete deserves a better franchise than the joke Rays

[@sirchi8731]

Your not getting anything after this

[@sprintkick9793]

Rays ownership is awful. Good riddance. No more tax payer money for pro sports.

[@JuicyPlayer]

I’m so tired of this

[@brianallyn5308]

It amazes me the people comments on here that have no idea how a stadium works, who pays for it and who owns it. County does not pay for the stadium for rays to own it. County owns the stadium, just like they own tropicana field, then rays have to lease it from the county. So there is no billions being given to a team, it is money being spent by county for county owned building. But go ahead st pete, don't vote for the stadium. rays will be glad to take their team elsewhere who does want them, that place will get contract for new stadium, those workers will have jobs building a new stadium, those workers will have jobs working in the stadium and that county will get the taxes from the tickets and sales! IF the stupid city council had not voted to lower insurance coverage on current stadium back in March, insurance would have covered all the repair cost for current stadium. But city decided to change coverage from 100 million to 25 million. Now the 25 millions coverage is not even a 1/3rd of the cost of the repairs.

[@99somerville]

All this talk about “ just move to Tampa” is funny. They would have already if they had gotten the taxpayers to foot the bill for a new stadium there. Evidently corporate welfare isn’t popular in SWF. Since the Rays don’t want to pay for a stadium themselves, they’ll be looking to find another city to build them one.

[@MattZ653]

It does not look good for Rays fans. Simply horrible it came down to this.

[@bruceirving5106]

BYE BYE RAYS

[@mikelfrance-l6x]

The lesson here as it was in Oakland. Never trust the government.

[@Rick-tj5iq]

Why not move to Oakland and become the Oakland Rays. Lol.

[@markamarka2204]

LABOUR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@nailingit73]

Get out of St. Pete already. Bring the team to Tampa. All this back and forth with the leaders in St. Pete is getting old. If the Rays leadership sells the team, the fans will get screwed because they'll leave Florida all together.

[@dagnabbit6187]

Let the Rays go ! I mean attendance wise it is Flopicana field . Raze the Trop. The hurricane gods gave us a pass for so long. Don’t throw money at this. Let Rays be a nomad team . Move around the state and country until they find a place . And yes thanks for the great memories !

[@sirchi8731]

Do u even have friends to go to the games with?

[@risingoneagleswings1776]

Good! The Rays need to be out of St. Pete. Tampa is prime.

[@giuso001]

Stop the crying already

[@TheDemonation13]

good riddens no one likes baseball n 10 dollar hotdogs

[@tonygoochafanchi578]

Do NOT lay this at the feet of the Rays, this is clearly the fault of St Pete and Pinellas County. Their actions, and lack thereof is how this all came about.

[@pm5206]

The roof should be fixed. Rays ownership is the problem. County bed tax should cover the costs for new stadium. Get it done. City council is correct.

[@CurtisADavis-bq3hq]

Nashville Rays.....get used to it. After this fiasco, MLB won't expand back to Tampa/St. Petersburg because of this shit show.

[@user-ub2id7ie2l]

The team belongs in Tampa not St Pete. Bring the Rays home.

[@ramonaderossett388]

I'm not local, but, who left it open, with a severe hurricane forecasted?? They had plenty of time to close it. So, was it purposely left open?

[@bwtawny]

Roof was torn off during hurricane. They were using it as a staging site for utility workers but they had moved out shortly before the damage occurred.

[@sdsmt99]

Ha, left it open. You people.

[@JBM425]

It was a fixed roof and not retractable, unlike most other covered stadia. According to the Rays’ media guide, the roof was built to withstand winds up to 115 mph and was made of six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass supported by cables.

[@ToMaToEsGrOw]

​@@sdsmt99😂😂😂

[@Biggsgaming]

It wasn't a retractable roof, it was a permanent covering that got torn off during a hurricane.

[@AwesomestParks]

Maye the rays need the devil name back so they can get a new stadium 🏟️💀😂