Rays Want New Domed Stadium, Development in St. Pete

The Tampa Bay Rays have a vision for a new home in St. Petersburg.

The team, which has lived with an uncertain stadium future for years, released details and renderings of a proposed new home east of their current stadium, Tropicana Field. 

• The proposal, developed with architecture firm Populous, calls for a fixed roof that can let in diffused light, large glass side windows which could be opened and closed, and a turf field.
• The roughly 30,000-capacity venue with no upper deck seating would likely cost more than $1 billion.
• Pending approvals, the Rays could move to the new stadium in 2028, after their lease at Tropicana expires the previous year. 

The team is working with real estate firm Hines, who developed the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park. 

Teams

| by Owen Poindexter

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More Than a Stadium

The Rays’ proposal follows the recent trend of making a sports venue the centerpiece of a new housing and retail area in the Historic Gas Plant District.

The team would like to build 5,700 multi-family units, 1.4 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail, 700 hotel rooms, 600 senior living residences, and a 2,500 capacity entertainment venue.

The Rays previously pursued a unique arrangement that would have had them split home games between St. Petersburg or Tampa and Montreal, but Major League Baseball quashed that plan. 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed confidence in October that the team will remain in the region.