Tampa Bay Rays announced Thursday that they will not continue with plans to develop a $ 1.3 billion ball park in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“After careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot proceed with the new ball park and the development project right now,” said the main owner Stuart Sternberg in a statement. “A series of events that began in October that no one could have expected led to this difficult decision.
“Our commitment to the Rays organization’s vitality and success is unsurpassing. We continue to focus on finding a ball parish solution that serves the best interest in our region, Major League Baseball and our organization.”
The rays announced their well -received plans last summer to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg’s historic gas plant to replace the outdated Tropicana field.
In October, Tropicana Field suffered major injuries during Hurricane Milton and forced Rays to move to Tampas Steinbrenner Field – New York Yankees Our training place – for the coming season 2025.
Local officials had approved the sale of bonds to pay for their share of the new stadium. The rays faced a deadline on March 31 to fulfill the conditions for public funding, including evidence that they could fulfill their lowest obligation of $ 700 million for the project.
That figure of $ 700 million did not include cost overruns, an obvious stick point for Sternberg and the team. The project already drove behind the schedule and drove back a planned 2028 opening for the plant in 30,000 locations.
Sternberg said Thursday that St. Petersburg will move on with his plans to restore the Tropicana field for the 2026 campaign. Estimates to fix the storm-raised ceiling and other repairs at the 35-year stadium have been estimated at $ 55 million.
The Raysna had Major League Baseball’s third lowest home presence in 2024, on average only 16,515 fans for 81 home games.
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