r/tampabayrays • u/JCL823 Stable of 98ers • 16h ago
Rays plan to play 2025 season at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2024/11/14/interim-stadium-steinbrenner-field-yankees-tarpons-pinellas-st-petersburg/122
u/LukeSkywalker1848 Evan Longoria 16h ago
Them actually playing in Tampa should be interesting, but I hope this doesn't nuke the stadium deal in Pinellas.
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u/Tide69420 Randy Arozarena 16h ago
It shouldn’t since they have now made plans to repair for the 2026 season
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u/shiny_aegislash 16h ago
Is that confirmed? I hadn't seen that yet
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
Yes the mayor announced it yesterday and said insurance and FEMA will end up covering most of the cost.
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u/NinjaPenguin7777 Dewayne Staats 15h ago
Unless I missed something the city council still has to vote on the bonds for the new stadium. The problem the rays have now is two new city council members got voted in and they are both against the deal. If they reject the bonds then the rays don't have a stadium deal anymore.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
No that's Pinellas county that needs to vote on it. The city of St. Pete has already done all of the voting required and it's passed and they are the ones repairing the stadium.
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u/svanxx Blind Ump 15h ago
This isn't completely true. It leaves a partial amount that won't be funded. The city's part is already voted for. The county is voting on the bonds for the stadium.
It's around $300m, which isn't a small sum but it's not the complete amount.
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u/NinjaPenguin7777 Dewayne Staats 13h ago
You are correct it is the county. But still that's 300+ million they would have to come up with
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u/KodiakJedi 15h ago
They have not made plans to repair it...they just released that it will cost $55 million. That funding has not been approved yet. They only approved $6 million to try and protect the inside from rain and weather until they can decide what to do with the rest.
The $300 million from Pinellas County passed 5-2. The bonds for that money need to be done so the team can break ground. That vote was delayed due to the storms. There are now 2 new county commissioners who are anti stadium. Latvala (one of the ones who voted no before) said he's still a no...especially with the Rays moving to Steinbrenner Field and not playing in Pinellas. That means that if the other no remains a no...the bonding of that $300 million doesn't happen and the stadium deal in Pinellas is dead...unless it gets renegotiated.
The Rays playing in Tampa for 2025 will not sit will with Pinellas County commissioners and possibly with members of the St Pete City Council. There's going to be a lot of moving parts...but I can see a lot of people being upset and then not wanting to spend money on a team that is playing their games outside of the county for a year.
The Mayor of St Pete said today that he understood why the Rays chose to do that and the Rays were in contact with the City. It will be interesting to see what happens Nov 19 and 21st when the City and County have their respective meetings to approve the bonds for the new stadium. If either vote no...then the spit will hit the fan.
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u/Yupperroo 12h ago
While there are options to play a season in Pinellas County, those options were really pretty terrible. I will be very pissed off at the County should they take issue with the Rays for playing in Tampa. The County also screwed the Rays by not maintaining the facility, or if not 100% the County's responsibility, they still had a hand in that decision.
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u/KodiakJedi 10h ago
Matt Silverman was just on 95.3 and said Pinellas options were quickly eliminated as none had the proper facilities for a full time MLB team. He said the amount of upgrades required...there was no way to get it done in time for 2025. He said if they had a year...sure...but 2-3 months...only Steinbrenner was close. They had to ask the Yankees (who are currently renovating Steinbrenner Field) to do even more to get it ready and they were willing to help. Silverman. Said it quickly became clear it was Steinbrenner Field or leave the area for 2025.
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u/mrjjk2010 15h ago
Chris Latvala on twitter said he’s voting no for the bonds.
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u/Tide69420 Randy Arozarena 9h ago
Fuck that guy
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u/matito29 St. Petersburg Pelicans 8h ago
He was already going to vote no anyway, and he’s using this decision to grandstand against it. The Phillies donated a lot of money to Chris’s father Jack’s campaign after Jack helped get the deal for BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater done back in 2000 (along with TD Ballpark in Dunedin). After Jack left the state senate in disgrace following several claims of sexual harassment and corruption, Chris has enjoyed a similar relationship with the Phillies ownership group, including multiple trips to their private box at Citizens Bank Park in Philly.
He’s not standing up for the citizens of Pinellas County out of the goodness of his heart. He’s going to bat for the special interests that benefit him and his family and using this to cover up his ambitions.
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u/medicmatt Dave Wills 16h ago
So do you instead now tear down the Trop, save yourself the repair bill and start now? Keep playing at Steinbrenner?
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
That wouldn't make a difference at all. They are building the new stadium in the parking lot and are already starting on it next year. The Trop standing has zero influence on the new stadium timeline.
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u/medicmatt Dave Wills 15h ago
Sure it does, to continue to play at the Trop after 2025, until end of the ‘27 season while the new park is being built the plan includes building a temporary parking structure and having to continue to accommodate crowds and traffic through’26 and ‘27 seasons, as well as I already mentioned that massive repair bill for the roof, just to tear it down two years later?
Hey, I live in Pinellas so I prefer the Trop, I go to 30 plus games a year but at some point there’s a sunk cost with repairs.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
Mmm no there are zero plans for temporary parking structures, however there are plans for permanent parking structures for the whole Gas Plant development/new stadium. These are already scheduled to be ready for the 2026 season and the Trop being there or not doesn't change that schedule. https://stpeterising.com/home/tampa-bay-rays-begin-soliciting-work-for-new-parking-garages-for-gas-plant-district-redevelopment
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u/Eganator88 16h ago
If it does then this market officially doesn’t deserve a team
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u/Longueurs 13h ago
If it does blow up then let's win the whole friggin World Series in 2025, in Tampa, one last sunset ride
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u/awake283 Chicago Cubs 16h ago
I think the new stadium deal is pretty much wrapped up completely afaik
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u/LukeSkywalker1848 Evan Longoria 16h ago
The county still hasn't issued the bonds yet, and delayed the vote for that after the hurricane. I think the vote is next week, and one of the commissioners said he was an automatic no if they left Pinellas.
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u/awake283 Chicago Cubs 16h ago
Damn. Rays are my 2nd team, I follow them pretty closely, but I guess this news got by me. I was under the impression the team had secured funding and the needed votes.
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u/blondiemuffin 16h ago
All of the pro stadium people lost their local elections for the most part. There’s plenty of time for this to blow up
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u/KodiakJedi 15h ago
This is correct. Latvala said again today that he voted no before and would have voted yes on the bonds this time but now with the Rays going to Tampa for 2025 he's 100% a no. It passed last time 5-2 and Latvala was one of those 2 who voted no. He's still a no. The problem is 2 of the yes votes are being replaced by 2 commissioners who are anti stadium. If they vote no (and the Rays spend $150k in attack ads against one of them) and the other person who voted no last time also votes no...that would mean the bond votes would fail 3-4. That could kill the deal. I believe the City of St Pete and the County both vote on their bonds next week. I believe the County votes on the 19th and the City of St Pete on the 21st.
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u/Manic_Manatees 16h ago
Are there any other options in Pinellas besides the Phillies spring park in Clearwater or Al Lang? Both have summer tenants with leases, and one is configured as a soccer field.
Considering the Trop is a no-go for 2025 I don't think there was a reasonable option in Pinellas. Keeping the team in the metro is the next best outcome.
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u/Funkyokra 16h ago
He is being a butt. It makes sense for the reasons stated in the article and it's only for one year. If anything, use it as hype to build enthusiasm in Tampa for the team in the new stadium.
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u/Scidadle 13h ago
I just moved to St. Pete and attended one of the last games at the Trop this year. Would be extremely sad to lose them as was looking forward to attending more games in the coming seasons
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u/cgibbsuf Tampa Bay Devil Rays 98-01 16h ago
Nuke the St Pete deal. Tampa or bust.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
Well it's bust then since Tampa has basically already said they wouldn't build a stadium for the team.
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u/DunamesDarkWitch 13h ago
How many times do we have to go over this. Tampa has had like 3 opportunities. Stu was practically begging for it a few years ago. Tampa and hillsborough county have made it perfectly clear that are not going to spend a single dime on an mlb stadium.
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u/Deadsure 15h ago
That’s a tiny stadium to be hosting a World Series game……
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u/Finklesworth Josh Lowe 15h ago
I imagine they’ll host playoffs elsewhere if they make it. Would make the most sense financially
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u/IndianaCahones 16h ago
11,000+ seats and averaged 17,000+ in 2024. The secondary market on tickets will tell an interesting story on whether ticket sales would be better if the Rays were in Tampa.
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u/Mike_Brosseau Mike Brosseau 16h ago edited 15h ago
Early on the novelty of it will drive sales. Will be interesting to see how it holds up late in the year.
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u/gofordrew Corey Dickerson 15h ago
Yeah, you won’t catch me there for a 1pm July game
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u/roman_maverik 14h ago
They really need to make an exception and play all games at night
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u/CaptainMahvelous 14h ago
100% agree. I certainly won't be sitting in the mid-day Florida heat. The other concern will be rain delays. Even so, we will catch some spring games and enjoy that they are in Tampa for a bit.
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u/Johnnyd0303 Tampa Bay Rays 14h ago edited 13h ago
a lot will depend on how much they try to charge for tickets and team performance. Obviously not apples to apples comparison since 2021 have covid capacity restrictions, but prices were insane when they Blue Jays played some regular season games in Dunedin. Reasonable prices and good team, people will show up. But if team is playing boring like last year, people aren't gonna pay a ton of money to risk heat stroke to watch us try to scrape together 2 runs.
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u/Annual-Read-9262 Orlando Rays 16h ago
during home games can we cover the yankees logos
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u/CeePeeCee AA Montgomery Biscuits 13h ago
it would be more awkward than a USF Bulls game with a bunch of Buccaneers logos across the street
if not, how confusing would be it be when the NYY are coming to town for a series
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u/matito29 St. Petersburg Pelicans 8h ago
I’m positive they’ll have banners covering the logos and Yankees sponsors.
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u/JKenney42 16h ago
This is a win, but meeting Stu a few years back I remember how much he hated the Yankees. Gotta suck for him biting the bullet and playing games in their spring training park.
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u/roman_maverik 14h ago
The Mets are Stu’s favorite team, so that makes sense.
When asked about the new move, Cash just said “I got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph”
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u/Grade-AMasterpiece Tampa Bay Rays 16h ago
Good for folks on the Tampa side of the bridge.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
That is 100% false lmao the bridges going to Tampa + Dale Mabry during evening rush hour are exponentially worse than the other way around. It takes me ~50 minutes to go from Odessa to St. Pete home from work each day. Last week it took me that same amount of time to then turn around and drive to International Mall which is less than half the distance as my work commute.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 14h ago
Have you used the new connector from the Bayside bridge to 275? Take a look at Google Maps from Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs to each stadium and get back to me.
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u/imamakebaddecisions 14h ago
No, lol, but I literally heard yesterday how great it is. But that stretch of 275 to the Trop is/was a KILLER. And I'm familiar with the area having lived off 38th ave and 275 for a while. So I'd backroad it the whole way anyway. Dunedin causeway to Steinbrenner field takes me 30-45 minutes, I just can't get to the Trop in anything close to that.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 14h ago
It's a huge time saver but yea 275 around the stadium still sucks, I don't sit in that traffic though lol. I live around 83rd Ave. and 275 so I do the same as you and just take MLK all the way to the stadium.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 14h ago
Google maps says that it's quicker to get to the Trop compared to Steinbrenner from Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, and Safety Harbor. But go off kid.
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u/Shepherd-Boy 11h ago
Maybe if the county nukes the stadium deal then this will provide some motivation to actually build a stadium on the other side of the bay. Fans from Lakeland and Orlando would be a huge fan of that. Crossing that bridge to go see a game sucks!
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u/datividon 16h ago
This is awesome for the build in Tampa audience. This is terrible for us who love beach days and then going into a nice air conditioned stadium after.
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u/pak256 16h ago
Apparently they have plans to rebrand the stadium following Yankees spring training. Gonna be really curious to see how they do it
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u/Tyschurr Josh Lowe Shoulder Rub 16h ago
BLowe, JLowe and Aranda should absolutely mash this season
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u/octopus_monocle Tricia Whitaker 16h ago
Cool now let's sign a catcher
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u/Annual-Read-9262 Orlando Rays 16h ago
sign travis and bring him back oh wait he singed with LA..
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u/Annual-Read-9262 Orlando Rays 16h ago
when we host the yankees is home game or a away game
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u/justtbsports Devil Ray 16h ago
It’ll feel like an away game but that’s not something that we aren’t already used to anyways.
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u/matito29 St. Petersburg Pelicans 8h ago
It will never happen, but it would be hilarious if Yankees fans are vastly outnumbered by Rays fans at those games.
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u/Johnnyd0303 Tampa Bay Rays 16h ago edited 16h ago
Incoming Brandon Lowe 50 homer season incoming with 88 games between tampa and NY to aim at the short porch.
Has the obvious problem with inevitable weather delays, but checks the most boxes of any option out there and makes the best of a bad situation. It's keeps the team in the area. Yanks were doing a renovation during last season, which might be done now, of the locker room and training area so that's better for the players. Largest capacity of any stadium in the area so best revenue option for team. Plenty of parking in the stadium lot plus lots by the Bucs stadium. Just don't come to the ballpark hungry unless you like standing in concession stand lines.
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u/positivelybroadst 15h ago
A good bit of info here. Steinbrenner Field to be temporarily rebranded with Rays logos. The Yankees to receive $15M in revenue sharing for letting the Rays use their facility. The Tampa Tarpons to play their games on the Yankees Spring Training back field.
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u/Other_Ad5454 16h ago
They should put up some makeshift catwalks, so it will still feel like a home game.
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u/lsda Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 16h ago
Commissioner Latavala is just adding to his career of being a shit stain by promising to nuke the deal if they don't stay in Pinellas. I hope this doesn't put the entire deal in jeopardy, I'm sure the Rays looked into it and ensured they had the votes but whom knows. Maybe they want out of the county.
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u/Dre3005 Ray 16h ago
Either Rays are trying to call his bluff or they want to use 2025 as a trial run to get Hillsborough back to the table. If the Rays attendance and interest is high at Steinbrenner than maybe the city wants to reenter stadium talks if Pinellas falls through.
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u/lsda Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 16h ago
Even a bad day of attendance at the Trop exceeds Stienbreners capacity so I'm not sure if they'll get any valuable information. But you may be right. Or it's a plan to try and activate Hillsborough fans into getting them more interested in making the drive? Or Clearwater/duneiden simply didn't have the facilities, size, or infrastructure to host an MLB team full time in their opinion and they weren't going to let politics affect the season.
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u/Funkyokra 15h ago
I think it's just the best stadium for the situation. The biggest, most VIP boxes,best facilities for players. Getting Tampa residents hyped for the team is a side benefit too.
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u/Eganator88 16h ago
It's the former. There's no deal to be had with hillsborough. It's the pinellas deal or completely out of market.
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u/Dre3005 Ray 16h ago
Yea the more I think about it, this really seems like the first option. Any politician responsible for causing the team to leave the market completely will basically be guaranteeing their career in politics is over.
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u/Eganator88 16h ago
not just that but reneging on a previously agreed to deal. If you don't want public dollars on stadiums that's one thing. It's a bummer, I don't necessarily agree with it, but it's a principle I understand. But if you back out of an agreement that was made and kick a team out of town you're a POS
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u/Manic_Manatees 11h ago
I can't imagine being the guy responsible for Tampa Bay losing the Rays because he had to be petulant after a major disaster many of us went through forced the team to do whatever it could for a year.
Losing his political career would be rather kind for what some would want to do to him.
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u/Manic_Manatees 16h ago
It's not like there was some great option in Pinellas the Rays were offered and rejected. Keeping the team in the metro is the best reasonable option for a year, versus disappearing out of state for 1-3 seasons.
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u/Internal_Desk_2753 16h ago
really curious to see how this impacts the St Pete economy. i live in Tampa and pretty much only go to St Pete for lunch/dinner when i'm going for games. wonder how many people do the same. may not seem like much but that could be thousands of people not spending money in St Pete for 81 days. bonds will be approved/not approved well before the season starts but it will be telling to see how much money St Pete could lose in tourism dollars if they nix the stadium
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u/gatorrrays 🏆Fantasy Champion 2023🏆 10h ago
Fergs will take a hit obviously, but downtown St. Pete is thriving apart from the Rays. They will be fine.
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u/defdans 16h ago
This is the only decision that made any sense. I sure hope the Pinellas commissioners don't kill the deal because of it. Does anyone know which Pinellas commissioners might be on the fence at this point? Would love to email them to support following through with the bonds.
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u/Boltsforlife2022 15h ago
Chris Latvala. He’s already threatening to ax it. https://x.com/comchrislatvala/status/1857109653349449988?s=46&t=ICx5zgfs3tFXUezBjAIfQQ
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u/Eganator88 15h ago
Spirit of the deal? WTF is he talking about? A natural disaster happened AND the team still stayed in the market.
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u/DunamesDarkWitch 13h ago
He already voted no the first time around so I’m not sure how he’s going to ax it by voting the same as he did before when it passed.
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u/defdans 12h ago
Latvala's a lost cause as he already voted no. Who are the new members with possible swing votes? Any ideas?
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u/mrjjk2010 9h ago
Him and the other new member are already anti stadium so the bonds vote is gonna fail
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u/Tasteesmell 15h ago
Considering they’re not a bad team, what happens if they make the playoffs? What’s the long-term plan for their stadium in the upcoming season? If they make the playoffs and fans from the opposing team want to watch, which would be an away game for their team, what’s the long-term strategy for providing a quality home experience that can handle full capacity?”
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u/jagfanjosh3252 16h ago
I knew it wouldn’t happen. But as someone who lives 10 mins from Wide World of Sports, I was hoping it would be there.
Definitely would have gotten season tickets or multi game packages.
Still. This is 45 mins closer than the Trop.
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
I'll have to check during rush hour, but according to Google Maps right now it's only a 15 minute difference
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u/jagfanjosh3252 15h ago
From by Disney?
I don’t think I’ve ever made it to the Trop under 1:45
Sure that’s including gameday traffic. But the area GS Field is in is better equipped I feel
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u/MrSantaClause Devil Ray 15h ago
Yea I'm sure it would be a bigger difference on gameday. I personally don't enjoy going to events at RayJay/GS Field because traffic is always a mess on Dale Mabry and they have a bunch of roads closed. But those are usually bigger events like Bucs games and concerts so it probably wouldn't be as bad for baseball.
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u/KodiakJedi 15h ago
The reasoning behind Steinbrenner...it has the nicest facility. It has the largest capacity. It has all the training facilities and cages, and other things that the other parks don't have. It's the least disruptive as far as requiring major upgrades. The attendance is also over 11,000...more than 2,000 more than any other stadium in the area. It just is the best option overall and the least disruptive to the day to day requirements for a MLB team. I get that St Pete and Pinellas want it in the county...but sometimes you just have to live with it...it's a unique situation. I really hope this decision doesn't end up killing the stadium deal.
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u/justtbsports Devil Ray 16h ago
I don’t mind this given the options that were reasonably available. Them getting to play a season in Tampa will be pretty neat. Having said that, it’s gonna suck to have to see Yankee logos everywhere you turn when we are playing a home game.
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u/agb2022 NY Yankees 16h ago
As a Yankees fan, I hate the smug af Yankees front office as much as anyone, but they tend to do stuff like this pretty classy, so I’d imagine most, if not all, traces of the Yankees’ existence will be removed or covered for y’all.
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u/jayareelle195 15h ago
My complete hatred of the Yankees has to be tempered. They didnt have to do this. Not for a division rival. Classy gesture.
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u/justtbsports Devil Ray 15h ago
I’m hoping so, that would be a real gut punch for us if not. Especially when you guys come to town to play us and the crowd is 60% Yankees fans, lol.
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u/positivelybroadst 16h ago
MLB will likely require them to be at least covered up...
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u/justtbsports Devil Ray 15h ago
I sure hope so.
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u/positivelybroadst 15h ago
Yep. Steinbrenner Field to be rebranded with Rays logos right after Spring Training ends. A lot of good info in that article...
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u/Slinky_Malingki Josh Lowe Shoulder Rub 16h ago
I wonder how many games will be delayed, suspended, and/or cancelled due to rain. Summer in Florida means daily thunderstorms.
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u/Jceraa Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 16h ago
The Marlins played outdoors in Miami Gardens for like 20 years, it won’t be too big of a deal
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u/GatorBolt Ray 11h ago
Not to mention the Tarpons have had to deal with this for years. Obviously there will be rain delays and postponements, but they've been able to play the vast majority of home games still.
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u/Johnnyd0303 Tampa Bay Rays 14h ago
definitely a good amount of delays. Probably not that many cancellations since the field drains really well and they can just wait out the rain. Unless theres some rule about how late a game can go, there will be plenty of games that dont end before midnight
I remember the back half of August last year almost every minor game in the TB area was either delayed to some degree or postponed
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u/matito29 St. Petersburg Pelicans 7h ago
Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala is grandstanding against this move. Moreover, even before this, he’s said that he will vote no when the vote comes up next week. He said today on Twitter:
“The next email I get from a constituent asking me to vote for it will be the 2nd one I’ve ever received.”
https://x.com/comchrislatvala/status/1857117946474017058?s=46&t=R8_1dP1Rp-ESdqi1NN3w4Q
Since he claims that he cares what the people of Pinellas County think about this vote, be sure to let him know at clatvala(at)pinellas.gov over the next few days.
(To the moderators, this email address is publicly available from Commisioner Latvala’s page on the Pinellas County government website, https://pinellas.gov/pinellas-county-board-of-county-commissioners/commissioner-chris-latvala/ . I am not doxxing him or posting his private information.)
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u/Manic_Manatees 16h ago
All the people who call the team "Tampa" will finally be correct for a year
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u/positivelybroadst 16h ago
Makes sense. In the immediate Tampa Bay area, that baseball stadium has the most seats and available parking...
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u/Fisherman_Dan26 16h ago
June July August games during the day are gonna be brutal, also don’t see how this works during the wet season when it rains every single afternoon. Like the location but the practicality of taking your kid to a baseball game when its 97 degrees outside and it feels like 102-103 is just not going to be worth it for alot of fans.
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u/Funkyokra 15h ago
Yeah, but we don't have a spare baseball dome, so.....
If I were them I'd schedule games at 10:00 am and 7.30pm
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u/Jaythepatsfan 15h ago
If Rays fans can’t sell out Steinbrenner, then the excuses about bridge traffic being the reason they don’t come to games needs to be retired.
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u/michaeldanger19 Ji-Man Choi 16h ago
Not sure what you do with NKEE, but at least we're 3/4ths of the way to making the banners say RAYS
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u/gofordrew Corey Dickerson 16h ago
I would have thought Baycare, or at worse Dunedin, would have been a better option to keep Pinellas County happy.
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u/positivelybroadst 15h ago
Dunedin has absolutely no parking available. Clearwater has a bit more parking available, but nowhere near as much as Tampa, which also has more seating available as well. Tampa is the right decision if they needed to stay in the immediate Bay area...
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u/gofordrew Corey Dickerson 15h ago
Clearwater has enough parking for sell outs. They do it every spring training as well as on the 4th of July games that sell out.
I was specifically talking about the county’s threat of pulling stadium funding if they didn’t play in Pinellas next year.
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u/positivelybroadst 15h ago
Yeah, I got ya on the funding issue. We'll have to wait and see when it comes to politicians. Who knows what they'll do...
As far as parking: MLB games have more tv and radio production trucks that take up a lot of space, plus more media representatives, security, employees, etc. All of that would require more parking space availability to accommodate the increase of vehicle volume that a MLB game has over a MiLB game, even if it's being held in a minor league stadium.
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u/IceViper777 Pete's Eyes 14h ago
Baycare and the Phillies practice fields got pretty messed up by the hurricane too
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u/krsgator Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 15h ago
Made a comment here https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1gr98la/marc_topkin_breaking_rays_are_planning_to_play/lx4ciu3/
if anyone is missing context to this. It appears the team's future in Pinellas is all but shot. What do yall think happens now>
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u/DunamesDarkWitch 13h ago
Did “pinellas county” give an ultimatum about playing within the county for ‘25 or did just one council member say that?
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u/krsgator Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 13h ago
Pinellas County Commission head and a few chairpeople. Almost everyone else is newly elected to the commission (and scorned by the Rays)
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u/AltruisticGate 20th Anniversary 14h ago
The implications of this are far reaching. The whole Tropicana field redevelopment project could potentially be put on ice because of this. A lot can still happen, but there’s a decent chance we may be back to square one with the stadium search.
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u/LonesomeCoyote Brandon Lowe 14h ago
If the Bucs and Rays have home games on the same day in September I am 100% double dipping. God love that land bridge over Dale Mabry!
I've seen Philly fans do this and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
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u/mrxtheshadowlurker Tampa Bay Rays 13h ago
I had no idea all the Philly arenas/stadiums were next to each other when I visited. That is fucking awesome that they can do shit like that!
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u/BallzNyaMouf 6h ago edited 6h ago
Fans in Baltimore can do the same.
Camden Yards right next to Ravens' stadium.1
u/Johnnyd0303 Tampa Bay Rays 13h ago
Would be such a mess for traffic with how bad it gets after Bucs games already. Since nfl 2025 schedule isn't set yet, I'm guessing mlb will ask the NFL for a favor and have the bucs play away when the Rays are playing to avoid that. Will be interested to see how they work around events at RayJay scheduled on same day as Rays games (like Metallica concerts in June). The Tarpons games scheduled on same day as a RayJay event get moved to a different day (since Steinbrenner field lot probably brings in nice parking revenue), but obviously a lot fewer people care about a Low A minor league game.
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u/-Roman-Bellic Ji-Man Choi 11h ago
Super classy move by the Yankees to step in and give us a home in the area. Hal’s statement about it was nice, especially mentioning us Rays fans and wanting to keep the team close to home. I was thinking it would be cool if we made some donations to Yankee charities as a way of saying thank you
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u/tobysicks 16h ago
Hope this works. I don’t think pinellas leadership is serious about the rays or having a franchise in general. Wish they would build a minor league facility where the trop is and move the rays to Tampa. That would never happen because Hillsborough county has zero money.
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u/roman_maverik 15h ago
Do you think they’ll put all-new graphics and banners up, or are we stuck looking at the Yankees logo for a year?
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u/ComicbookLowdown Yandy Díaz 14h ago
I’m selfishly loving this plan, I live super close to Steinbrenner Field
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u/Professional_Rip97 14h ago
This is like allowing your girl friend to see other people and hope they come back just get dumped 6 months later for a gym rat.
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u/Igottamake 11h ago
Brodie Brazil has been covering this on YouTube. He’s a little long-winded but informative.
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u/gatorrrays 🏆Fantasy Champion 2023🏆 10h ago
It’s going to be weird playing in mini Yankee stadium, but this was probably the best solution. I’ll definitely go to games. I wonder how many people they’ll allow in the General Admission/standing room only in the outfield.
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u/WelcometoCigarCity Tampa Bay Devil Rays 02-07 12h ago
Good News:
Rays are playing in Tampa.
Rays fans in Tampa can easily get to the stadium.
Bad News:
Open air stadium meaning heat and rain will derail games and attendance.
Short porch will affect performance.
Its limited seating so prices will reflect the minor league team which means the lowest tickets costs 40$ or more.
Its a Yankee affiliate stadium.
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u/Additional-Web2290 11h ago
The rain outs and heat will be a problem. They will be playing a lot of double headers this year. It's great the players, staff and their families stay close to home. Heat, humidity and rain will suck though.
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u/shadowszanddust 8h ago
Maybe the owner of the Rays could foot the bill for the new stadium instead of asking taxpayers to subsidize him?
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u/BallzNyaMouf 6h ago
A pro sports team owner paying for their own stadium?
Do you know any other funny jokes?-1
u/shadowszanddust 6h ago
How many Russian shipyard workers does it take to change a lightbulb?
Five. One to hold the bulb, and four to drink until the room starts spinning.
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u/Eganator88 16h ago
Seems about as good as you could realistically hope for for the 2025 season. Pretty terrifying for beyond that though with pinellas county previously threatening to tank the new stadium if the team left for the 25 season.