Local Politician Asked the Tampa Bay Rays to Change Their Team Name

A local politician in St. Petersburg, Fla., had apparently previously asked the Tampa Bay Rays to change their name. She has apparently withdrawn her request.

Apparently, a local politician in St. Petersburg, Fla., had previously asked the Tampa Bay Rays to change their name.

Per Front Office Sports:

As the Rays ask the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County to cover roughly half the costs of a new $1.3 billion ballpark, a city council member proposed that the MLB franchise be rebranded as the St. Petersburg Rays – which would have given the team its third name since entering the league in 1998 as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before dropping ‘Devil’ from its name in 2007. The Rays have always played at Tropicana Field, which, in fairness to said city council member, is in St. Petersburg.

On Thursday, that council member, Gina Driscoll, softened her proposal, simply asking for more details about how the Rays could “elevate St. Petersburg” after receiving stiff pushback from city and team officials. 

This actually makes sense on all fronts. By making the more radical proposition, Driscoll is able to elevate a conversation she feels is worth having. Given that the Rays do play in St. Petersburg, it seems fair to ask the team to help elevate the area. The team plans to do that by elevating the area around the new ballpark. Hopefully this can make St. Petersburg more of a tourist destination and can raise awareness.

However this all shakes out, the Rays are a worthwhile brand. The organization is one of the most successful in baseball over the last several years, winning 99 games in the 2023 season.

They also most recently went to the World Series in 2020.

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