Latest news with #TropicanaField
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Study to possibly turn Tropicana Field into a convention center underway
The City of St. Pete and Pinellas County are coming up with options for what to turn Tropicana Field into after the 2028 baseball season.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Tampa Bay Rays say they are in talks for potential team sale amid ballpark uncertainty
The Tampa Bay Rays say they are in "exclusive discussions" with a Florida investment group for a potential sale of the team. The Rays are valued at $1.25 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Stuart Sternberg bought the Major League Baseball club for $200 million in 2004. "The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team," the club said Wednesday while declining further comment. The potential sale comes at a precarious time for the Rays and their home ballpark. They are playing this season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa after the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton last October. Before the hurricane, the Rays and the city had agreed on a plan for a $1.3 billion stadium development project next to Tropicana Field. In March, Sternberg said the club was withdrawing from that agreement. St. Petersburg is spending about $55 million to repair Tropicana Field with a plan for the Rays to return there in 2026. The city and the club have a three-year agreement to play there. Beyond that, the club's future in the Tampa Bay area is uncertain. When the Rays withdrew from the project, the city noted that it was possible the club would have new owners. "If in the coming months a new owner, who demonstrates a commitment to honoring their agreements and our community priorities emerges, we will consider a partnership to keep baseball in St. Pete," Mayor Ken Welch said in March. "But we will not put our city's progress on hold as we await a collaborative and community-focused baseball partner."
Associated Press
18-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Tampa Bay Rays say they are in talks for a potential sale amid stadium uncertainty
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays say they are in 'exclusive discussions' with a Florida investment group for a potential sale of the team. The Rays are valued at $1.25 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Stuart Sternberg bought the Major League Baseball club for $200 million in 2004. 'The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team,' the club said Wednesday while declining further comment. The potential sale comes at a precarious time for the Rays and their home ballpark. They are playing this season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa after the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton last October. Before the hurricane, the Rays and the city had agreed on a plan for a $1.3 billion stadium development project next to Tropicana Field. In March, Sternberg said the club was withdrawing from that agreement. St. Petersburg is spending about $55 million to repair Tropicana Field with a plan for the Rays to return there in 2026. The city and the club have a three-year agreement to play there. Beyond that, the club's future in the Tampa Bay area is uncertain. When the Rays withdrew from the project, the city noted that it was possible the club would have new owners. 'If in the coming months a new owner, who demonstrates a commitment to honoring their agreements and our community priorities emerges, we will consider a partnership to keep baseball in St. Pete,' Mayor Ken Welch said in March. 'But we will not put our city's progress on hold as we await a collaborative and community-focused baseball partner.' ___ AP MLB:
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Rays' future remains murky amid Tropicana Field discussions
June 5 - Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged that, while Tropicana Field is expected to be ready for the 2026 season, the Tampa Bay Rays' long-term home remains uncertain. The St. Petersburg, Fla., City Council voted in April to approve $22.5 million for a new Teflon-coated fiberglass roof to replace the one shredded by Hurricane Milton in October. Manfred said Wednesday that the goal is to have the Rays playing in Tropicana Field on or near Opening Day next season. The team plays this season's home games at the Yankees' spring training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field. However, the Rays are averaging an MLB-low 9,850 fans per game, which adds an additional wrinkle to resolving the franchise's long-term locale. The team in March walked away from a deal with the city and Pinellas County to build a $1.3 billion stadium, claiming it could not move forward because of the project's shifted timeline and cost overruns. "The big contingency (for next year) is what happens with the (2025) hurricane season. There's not much you can do about that besides keep your fingers crossed," Manfred said. "Long-term, they're going to honor their lease (at Tropicana Field) through 2028, but I don't really have anything to add beyond that." The city was contractually obligated to provide the Rays with a playable home, and the council voted 7-1 in April for the new fiberglass roof despite concerns. "I'd much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in our most affected neighborhoods," council member Brandi Gabbard told the Tampa Bay Times, "but this is our obligation." A community discussion moderated by the Tampa Bay Times earlier this week discussed the future of the Gas Plant District -- where Tropicana Field is located -- now that the new stadium deal is dead. Among the ideas raised were additional hotel space, a park, or an area similar to Boston Common in New England. --Field Level Media
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
As Blue Jays head to Tampa, here's why Tropicana Field (mostly) won't be missed
TORONTO — Tropicana Field was all fun for a 10-year-old Bo Bichette. Sitting in the stands for a 2008 American League Championship Series game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, Bichette felt the full crowd. As cownose stingrays swam in the right field tank, cowbells rang out each time Carl Crawford or Evan Longoria reached base. But when Bichette first played at the Trop during his rookie season, 11 years later, it wasn't the same. Advertisement 'The vibe was different,' Bichette said. 'Obviously there wasn't a lot of fans, it was a little darker in there. It just didn't feel much like a ballpark.' For the Toronto Blue Jays, the different vibe of Tropicana Field spilled over onto the scoreboard. Since Bichette's 2019 debut, the Blue Jays are 18-32 when visiting the Rays. Toronto's franchise is 92-144 all-time at Tropicana Field, a winning percentage of just .390. The Jays won't have a shot to improve that record this season — and they're not exactly heartbroken about it. Instead of another date at what's been a house of horrors, the Blue Jays open a three-game set against the Rays on Friday across the bay at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Because Hurricane Milton tore the fiberglass roof membrane off Tropicana Field last October, the Rays are playing all home games at the New York Yankees' spring training facility this year. With a season away from the stadium, and Tropicana's long-term future uncertain, Blue Jays players reflected on what made the ballpark unique — and difficult. 'I don't even know if there's a word to describe it,' Daulton Varsho said. 'It's just … different.' The cream-coloured roof tormented outfielders like Varsho. There are specific ground rules governing balls hit into catwalks below the ceiling, but the hardest part of fielding at the Trop is the baseball-toned facing. For Varsho, it's like every fly ball is hit directly into the sun. 'I just remember a couple balls that went up into the ceiling,' Varsho said. 'And you're like 'where did it go?' And then you're just running to a spot and hoping it comes out.' Chris Bassitt, who has made five career appearances at Tropicana, called it 'playing in a tent.' He's lost fly balls in the roof and scaffolding, but Bassitt's real struggle with the Trop is the mound. Major League Baseball mounds are regularly measured and required to be a uniform height, exactly 10 inches tall, but Bassitt claims Tropicana Field's pitching bump feels much taller. Other pitchers around the league have made similar observations. Advertisement If you know how to use it, Bassitt said, the higher mound enhances the spin on pitches. While Bassitt's release point at Tropicana Field wasn't higher than normal in 2024, two of the righty's five highest spin pitches came at Tampa Bay. Closer Jeff Hoffman agreed the Trop's mound is 'massive.' It's his favorite pitching bump in baseball, he said, because it increases the induced vertical break on his four-seam fastball. But it's the consequences of that raised rubber Bassitt worries about, as he feels it temporarily messes up his pitching mechanics. Over the last three seasons, Bassitt has a 6.19 ERA in starts immediately after pitching in Tropicana Field. Kevin Gausman and José Berríos also have post-Trop ERAs over 5.00. 'The way that you're pitching, the way you're landing, where your body's reacting,' Bassitt said, 'is completely different than I would say normal. So, yeah, I think you definitely had a lot of 'all right, I gotta figure out my mechanics again' and make sure they're lined up for a normal mound, so to speak.' Tropicana Field is hard on the Blue Jays' bats, too. During the previous five years, Toronto hit just .234 at Tampa Bay, with a .385 slugging percentage. At every other park, those marks were .256 and .423. Multiple Toronto batters cited Tampa Bay's consistently great pitching for those offensive struggles, but Bichette and Varsho also mentioned the ballpark's dark lighting as another offensive roadblock. Per Baseball Savant's park factors, pitchers at Tropicana have produced above-average strikeouts each of the last 18 years. 'You just didn't see it as well,' Varsho said. 'From a hitter's perspective.' Maybe Steinbrenner Field will be kinder, though there are aspects of Tropicana Field the Blue Jays will miss. Varsho praised the new turf installed before the 2024 season. Bichette enjoys playing at the venue, he said, as it's close to home. Ernie Clement, who leads active Toronto hitters with a .281 average at the Trop, enjoys the stadium's 'relaxing vibe.' Clement also noted it was one of the best dirt infields in baseball — never a bad hop. But the Blue Jays' record there doesn't lie: Tropicana Field isn't their venue. 'I'm not too sad that it's gone,' Bassitt said. (Top photo of Tropicana Field on March, 28, 2024: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
