Rays’ New Stadium Delayed Past 2028, Potentially Halted Until Further Notice

The Tampa Bay Rays announced that damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton and financing delays will impact plans for their new stadium.

The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. / Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays received another blow Tuesday with their future stadium plans.

Hurricane Milton shredded Tropicana Field's roof and left a disastrous scene inside after the storm hit on Oct. 9. The damage forced the Rays to find a new home for the 2025 season, when they'll play home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., the 11,000-seat ballpark and spring training home field for the New York Yankees.

In July, the city council approved future plans for a new stadium which guaranteed the team would stay in Tampa for at least 30 more years. On Tuesday, however, the Rays announced that a combination of severe hurricane damage and political delays on financing meant it is highly unlikely the team's new stadium would be ready for the 2028 season, if at all, according to the Associated Press.

The Pinellas County Commission voted to delay finalizing bonds that would finance the new $1.3 billion ballpark in Tampa until their next meeting on Dec. 17. In a letter to the county commission, Rays executives said the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the new stadium and cannot proceed further because of delays in approvals for the public share of the costs.

“The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events," Rays executives said in the letter penned to the county commission.

The team has to wait until December, at least, for another update on public funding for their new ballpark. The delays put the timeline and overall future of the Rays' stadium plans in flux as the team gets used to a new, immediate future at the Yankees' spring training site while the Trop is under repair.

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