And the wheel turns more on this.
New ballpark in St. Pete’s scrapped.
Deadline was less than 3 weeks away.
And still no word when the Trop will be repaired.
Hope there is a group or two with deep pockets to keep the team in the area.
Otherwise this is turning into MLB’s version of the Coyotes.
As I wrote here in November and given this news, and as we track the situation in Las Vegas with the new stadium being built as well, I’m going to ahead and state that the road to Nashville or North Carolina is further underway for MLB:
If Nashville really has its ducks in a row, they may have their pick of the litter lol
And from what I understand of Trop’s lease the Rays still owe 3 more years to play regardless of the delay to fix it and they can’t even negotiate with other cities.
If that is so iron clad, then you could have a team playing in minor league parks or spring training facilities indefinitely and they can’t be relocated.
Can’t write this stuff!
No stadium funding and it looks like they will be gone.
Maybe Montreal is back on the table and Bronfman can resurrect his stadium plans which did include an Als option
I believe it was the Peel Plan if I am not mistaken right?
As the news develops with the Rays, I have learned that a group has also arisen so to back a move to Orlando.
You can bet that the state government in Florida will go in heavy to support a move to Central Florida, instead of watching the team leave the state.
From also a recreational perspective amongst youth and adults, other than golf and tennis, baseball (and softball) are huge in Florida and are played more of the year than in other baseball markets in various local leagues under the lights in the evenings. There is a huge travel team scene in Florida especially for youth baseball, for example, with teams traveling to Florida from other states for various tournaments.
With prospects of Nashville, North Carolina, Orlando, and even the chance that the market in Las Vegas would open up should the A’s decide to switch gears to move somewhere else (due perhaps due construction delays for a project that already is going to face mounting costs well above projection), that’s where these teams in trouble are likely going here in the US first before any expansion market (which could include the losers of these four, of course).
Moving the A’s and the Rays is the first objective, just as expressed years ago by the MLB Commissioner, before any expansion.
Here’s former MLB executive David Samson with a great review of the situation in Tampa Bay. After watching this video, I came to find out this is an excerpt of a long version, so this is about as informed a take on the situation as one will find shared publicly.
Amongst other key insights, one that is already evident is that with much of the Tampa Bay area, the bridge with St. Pete has already been burned.
I am not sure after this season, due to their single-season replacement venue at a prime location at George M. Steinbrenner Field not far from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, that there will be many local fans of the Rays even left after this grand mess.
And I’m sure that Disney would step in and build them a stadium.
Orlando is a much better market than St Petes, people in Tampa will not drive across that causeway to St Petes.