Afternoon Edition |
April 3, 2025 |
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After approval from the St. Petersburg City Council, Tropicana Field’s roof repair begins—but will the Rays return in 2026, or is their future elsewhere?
—David Rumsey, Alex Schiffer, and Colin Salao
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Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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As the Rays continue their 2025 MLB season playing at the spring training home of the Yankees, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) City Council approved $22.5 million in funding Thursday to begin repairing the roof at their longtime home ballpark, Tropicana Field.
The city council voted 7–1 to replace Tropicana Field’s roof, which was ripped off during Hurricane Milton last fall. St. Petersburg, the venue’s landlord, is contractually obligated to fix the damage, which could ultimately cost more than $50 million in total.
With the roof repair green-lit, the goal is to have Tropicana Field ready for the 2026 MLB season. The Rays are 4–2 this season after six home games at the 11,000-seat George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Should the Rays return to Tropicana Field, the team will have three years remaining on its lease, which extends by one year for each season the club doesn’t play at the ballpark.
Last month, the Rays decided not to move forward with a plan to build a new $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg. That led to questions about the club’s future, including the potential for relocation.
Despite Thursday’s vote, there is no guarantee that Tropicana Field will be ready to host major league games in 2026. Other repairs needed include returning the playing surface to viability, making sure audio and video is working throughout the venue, and getting concessions back up and running.
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Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters via Imagn Images
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The United States and United Kingdom are expected to land the new-look women’s World Cups in 2031 and 2035, respectively, with no competitive bids in their way.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday in Serbia that neither bid faces competition after a deadline passed. The formal vote is next year.
The women’s World Cup expanded from 24 to 32 teams in 2023, and it will expand again to 48 in 2031.
Infantino said the United Kingdom is the one “valid bid” to host the 2035 event and that the U.S. is the lone country interested in the 2031 tournament, though Mexico would likely be included in its bid. China had reportedly been interested in 2031, but FIFA said earlier this year that only bids from Concacaf and African nations would be considered.
“We are honored to be the sole bidder for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035,” English FA CEO Mark Bullingham said. “Hosting the first FIFA World Cup since 1966 with our home nations partners will be very special. The hard work starts now, to put together the best possible bid by the end of the year.”
The most recent Women’s World Cup to be played on U.S. soil was in 2003, which was the country’s second consecutive time hosting after holding the 1999 tournament.
The 2027 women’s World Cup will be played in Brazil and will have 32 teams. Netflix has exclusive U.S. rights for the 2027 and 2031 tournaments. Fox has aired the women’s World Cup in the United States since 2015.
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The NFL is doubling down on its long-running reality series, Hard Knocks, by expanding the pool of teams that are eligible to be selected for the show each season.
Under new rules going into effect for the 2025 season, more than half the league will be fair game for NFL Films and HBO to follow during training camp—way up from previous seasons when sometimes just a handful of teams were in the running.
The new eligibility rules, according to NFL insider Albert Breer, only prohibit teams that have a first-year head coach, those in divisions set to be featured in the next two seasons of Hard Knocks: In-Season, and teams that participated in the training camp Hard Knocks in the previous eight seasons. The NFL has also decided that each of its eight divisions will appear on the show on a rotating basis.
Gone is the rule prohibiting teams that made the playoffs in the previous two seasons, which limited the pool of contenders.
Who Is Next?
Without yet knowing which division the in-season edition will follow in 2025, here are the 20 teams currently eligible for Hard Knocks this summer:
- AFC East: Bills, Dolphins
- AFC North: Bengals, Ravens, Steelers
- AFC South: Colts, Texans, Titans
- AFC West: Broncos, Chiefs
- NFC East: Commanders, Eagles, Giants
- NFC North: Packers, Vikings
- NFC South: Falcons, Panthers
- NFC West: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks
Up to three of those teams will be ineligible since their division will be followed for the in-season Hard Knocks, meaning at least 17 teams will ultimately be eligible this year.
It appears the NFL will not produce an offseason version of Hard Knocks this year, after many pundits were shocked by the access the Giants gave the show in 2024, and a deal with UNC and new coach Bill Belichick fell through.
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Cowboys ⬆ Dallas needed more depth behind Dak Prescott and traded for quarterback Joe Milton III on Thursday, reportedly giving up a 2025 fifth-round pick for the former 2024 sixth-round pick out of Tennessee. In return, the Cowboys will also receive a 2025 seventh-round pick. Prescott, who signed a four-year deal worth $240 million in 2024, is coming off a season-ending hamstring injury, and the only other quarterback on the roster is Will Grier. Milton, who will have a chance to earn the No. 2 spot in Dallas, was behind Joshua Dobbs and starter Drake Maye for the Patriots.
Bills ⬆ The team is eyeing a bid for the 2029 NFL Draft. The draft is headed to Green Bay this year, and Pittsburgh in 2026, continuing a trend of the event being hosted in cold-weather cities that are unlikely to host a Super Bowl. The Bills are set to open their new stadium in 2026, as construction costs soar past $2 billion, and potentially even higher.
Ja Morant ⬇ The NBA issued a warning to the Grizzlies star—as well as Warriors guard Buddy Hield and their respective teams—for appearing to gesture with his fingers as if he were shooting a gun toward the Warriors’ bench during their game Tuesday night, according to ESPN. Morant, a two-time All-Star signed to a five-year, $197.2 million contract, per Spotrac, has twice been suspended (33 games total) for showcasing a firearm on social media.
Bengals ⬇ Trey Hendrickson said Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show that he’s disappointed about comments made by Cincinnati’s EVP Katie Blackburn regarding his contract negotiations with the team. Blackburn said Tuesday that Hendrickson “should be happy” with what the team is offering him. The star defensive end is entering the final year of his deal and is in search of a long-term deal. Meanwhile, Blackburn also said the Bengals could “go wherever we wanted” for the 2026 season if they don’t re-sign their stadium lease in Cincinnati by the June 30 deadline.
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- Netflix released a trailer for its new horse racing docuseries, Race for the Crown, which premieres April 22. Check it out.
- Shohei Ohtani has the most popular jersey in MLB. Take a look at the rest of the top 10.
- Texas women’s basketball head coach Vic Schaefer gave an emotional postgame interview after leading the Longhorns to their first Final Four appearance in 20 years. Watch it here.
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 | Adidas, Lululemon, and Under Armour shares plunged Thursday. |
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