Tampa Bay Rays fans should be a little worried--take it from A's fans

Jason Burke | Nov 25, 2024

Mar 28, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; A general view of Tropicana Field during the fifth inning on opening day between the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters last week that the league is "committed to the fans in Tampa Bay." On its face, that has to be refreshing to hear for Tampa Bay Rays fans, given the recent turmoil surrounding a ballpark deal that was thought to have been secured.

On the other hand, Oakland A's fans, or former A's fans at this point, will point to a time they too were reassured by the same commissioner, when Manfred said in 2018, "I believe that there is not another market in the United States that has the upside potential that Oakland has, and I think we would regret leaving Oakland if we did that."

The A's are now in the process of potentially moving to Las Vegas with a brief stop in Sacramento to play in a minor-league ballpark. This is after a little over a year passing between Manfred's words and Covid hitting in 2020. By 2021, MLB had approved the team to look at potential relocation options.

For the Rays, their current situation is less of their own doing, at least initially, but they could soon find themselves on a similar path.

Hurricane Milton hit, ripped the roof off the Trop, and made approving the needed bonds for the ballpark less of a necessity in the short-term. The vote on whether or not to approve those bonds has been delayed a second time, which is perfectly understandable given the circumstances.

Even Manfred was sympathetic, telling The Athletic, "Given the devastation in that area, it’s kind of only fair to give the local governments in the Tampa Bay region opportunity to sort of figure out where they are, what they have available in terms of resources, what’s doable."

Meanwhile, the Rays are saying that if construction is delayed, then they won't be able to open up their new ballpark by 2028, which would cost them more money, which could make the entire project unsustainable financially.

All of that can be managed with a simple vote.

Yet, the one piece from Manfred's press conference that isn't being talked about nearly enough is the same tactic that was used to lift the A's out of Oakland. Sure, attendance can be pointed to as a reason the team had to leave, so when they do you can blame the fans. But business owners can also be blamed for not marketing their product well enough or making it affordable enough to bring people out.

That's why this simple line in Evan Drellich's piece could be a big warning sign: "The Tampa Bay Rays likely need a plan for their permanent home no later than 2026, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday, appearing to give the team at least a year’s grace to sort through an increasingly confrontational dispute with government officials over financing for a new park."

The A's went from ballpark site to ballpark site all around the Bay Area, releasing renderings left and right for 15 years, but when there was all of a sudden an artificial deadline put in place, the team ended up leaving because "they ran out of time."

Given the Rays seeming impatience for any delays whatsoever, that year grace period may end up meaning nothing, and their scare tactics could force an approval for the bonds. Or the team could decide to focus their ballpark efforts elsewhere long before next year at this time.

But the presence of a deadline should be just a touch worrisome.

It's also worth noting that according to the New York Post, the Tampa Bay Rays were apparently on the market this past summer for a reported $1.6 billion sale price, but the deal they had in place fell apart. That could be the one saving grace for Rays fans in this process, is that their owner, Stuart Sternberg, has at least (reportedly) toyed with the idea of selling his team.

Even a sale could be bad news, unless there is a definitive plan to keep the Rays in Tampa, because a new group could come in and decide they're going to Nashville, and it would likely be approved.