Editorial Seventh entry
Tampa Bay / 18.09.2023 16:23:58
The Tampa Bay Rays are very close to putting an end to a long search for a home as it is expected that this Tuesday they will make the announcement of the construction of a new stadium in the center of St. Petersburg, a property that will allow them to remain in the area of Tampa Bay being one of the two new parks that will be inaugurated within Major League Baseball (MLB) during the coming years.
The Tampa Bay Times reported on the construction of the new stadium; The club will make the official announcement this Tuesday and the stadium is expected to be ready by 2028, a year after the occupancy contract for Tropicana Field ends after 30 years.
However, the Rays will not change location much as the new building will rise on the remodeled Tropicana site, an area of almost 35 hectares also known as the Gas Plant Historic District.
Construction of the Rays’ new home would cost an estimated $1.2 billion, enough to build a stadium with a capacity of 30,000 people, with a dome, synthetic grass and retractable walls within a pavilion design.
The stadium was just part of the Gas Plant Historic District redevelopment plan, which also called for multifamily housing units, office space, a retail area, hotel rooms, senior residences and an entertainment venue.
The Rays have been searching for a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area for about 16 years. They announced plans in November 2007 to build a stadium on the site of Al Lang Stadium, which served as the Spring Training home for several Major League teams. They were also unable to reach an agreement with Hillsborough County in 2018 and the MLB Executive Council rejected their proposal to split the season in Montreal at the start of 2022.
The new stadium will be one of three to open in the coming years; The Athletics will move to Las Vegas after 2024, while the Royals will vacate Kauffman Stadium for a new stadium around 2027.
2023-09-19 00:19:13
#Rays #build #stadium #Tampa #Bay
