If not the Trop, where could Rays play in Tampa Bay

Back to square one.

When the Rays and development partner Hines were selected to redevelop the Gas Plant District last year, elected officials and baseball fans across Tampa Bay had hoped it would end years of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the site and the team’s future in the region. But rising costs, along with procedural delays following hurricane damage to Tropicana Field, led to the deal’s eventual demise this week.

Still, the team has to play somewhere. Over the years a number of different options in Tampa Bay and beyond have been floated as potential homes for the Rays. Now that the team is essentially back to where it began when it first announced its search for a new home almost 20 years ago, let’s dust off the portfolio of prospective sites and take stock.

Could any of the Rays’ previously considered stadium sites be back in the conversation? It’s been awhile, so many, if not most, options are no longer viable. Here’s a rundown:

Tropicana Field site

The Trop opened in 1990 and has been home to the Rays since 1998. Due to low attendance and other concerns, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg in 2007 began searching for a new stadium. St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved a $6.5 billion deal for a new ballpark and redevelopment of the surrounding area last year. In October, Hurricane Milton tore apart the roof panels of the stadium.

After the Rays decided to play this season in Tampa, county commissioners delayed financing. The Rays said subsequent delays pushed back the reconstruction timeline and increased costs beyond what the team could afford. On Thursday, Sternberg said the team won’t move forward with the stadium deal.

If he were to sell? The Trop could emerge as a favorite spot. Under Sternberg? Seems like an unlikely destination — unless it’s a temporary home. Even that, however, would require further subsidies from taxpayers, a hard sell with officials who say they’re done with negotiating with Sternberg.

Key players: Sternberg; St. Petersburg City Council; Mayor Ken Welch; Pinellas County commissioners.

Al Lang Stadium

In 2007, the Rays announced plans to build a $450 million ballpark seating 34,000 on St. Petersburg’s waterfront. The stadium was supposed to have a retractable, sail-like roof instead of a fixed one. The plan went nowhere just a year after the announcement due to high costs and public concerns. Al Lang Stadium later became the soccer home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Concerns about the size of the site, and the time and money it would take to make it ready for Major League Baseball still stand.

Key players: Sternberg; St. Petersburg City Council; Welch.

Toytown landfill

In 2015, the Gary Sheffield Sports Foundation and local developer Darryl LeClair planned a $662 million sports complex at the Toytown site, a location near Interstate 275 and Roosevelt Boulevard. The project included a new spring training facility for the Atlanta Braves. The plan did not move forward. Now, nearly a decade later, the site may become a youth sports complex, according to St. Pete Rising.

Key players: Pinellas County; LeClair; Gary Sheffield Sports Foundation.

Carillon office park area

The “Rays Park at Carillon” project was led by LeClair and his company, CityScape. The proposed ballpark was located in an area surrounded by Ulmerton Road, Roosevelt Boulevard and Interstate 275. It was planned to accommodate 35,000 spectators. If construction had started in 2014, the total cost was expected to be between $540 million and $570 million.

The site is now a business and office district and is no longer viable.

Key players: LeClair; CityScape.

Derby Lane

Derby Lane, a 130-acre property on Gandy Boulevard, was considered a possible location for a new Rays stadium in 2015. Its large size and convenient location made it an appealing option. No formal plans were developed that year, nor were there serious discussions about the idea. The site was eventually dismissed as a potential stadium location.

Today, the property operates a poker room and rents its parking to Amazon trucks.

Key players: Richard Winning, president and chairman of the Board at Derby Lane; Chris Steinocher, president and CEO at St Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

Albert Whitted Airport

The airport was once considered a good option. A historic influence? Maybe. Its 110 acres of waterfront space were always attractive. In early 2022, Welch brought up the idea after a closed-door meeting with officials from Pinellas County and the Rays. Other locations, like Al Lang Stadium and the Tropicana Field redevelopment, were also discussed. The airport’s future was debated for years, but the idea of transforming the airport into a ballpark did not move forward. The Rays and others raised concerns about potential flooding there.

The site remained unchanged and continues to provide various aviation services.

Key players: Welch; Pinellas County.

Ybor City/Ybor Harbor/Channel District

Hillsborough County officials explored various locations in their search for a new home for the Rays. The Nuccio Parkway area near the Ybor City gates was a key focus due to its location, accessibility and transit connections. In 2017, Tampa Park Apartments was also considered, along with the Ybor area east of 22nd Street. After many discussions, the Channel District/Ybor City area emerged as the top choice for a ballpark on a 14-acre site. The proposed stadium was designed to hold 30,842 spectators and was estimated to cost $892 million. However, the project never materialized and ultimately was canceled.

The area has since experienced urban and commercial growth where land sells at a premium. As with any project in Tampa or Hillsborough, however, the pressing question is: Where would the money come from? There’s no obvious public source of money that could pay for steep land acquisition costs or leases or construction.

“We’ve always welcomed the idea of the Rays coming to Tampa if it works for all parties but we have no active conversations happening at this time,” said Darryl Shaw, the real estate investor behind the Gas Worx project in Ybor City.

Key players: County Commissioner Ken Hagan; Rays President Brian Auld; BluePearl Veterinary Services CEO Shaw.

Florida State Fairgrounds

When St. Petersburg allowed the Tampa Bay Rays to search for a new stadium site in January 2016, Hillsborough County considered eight possible locations, as the Times reported. One option was the Florida State Fairgrounds, near I-4 and U.S. 301. The plan did not move forward. One of the main obstacles was the lack of steady growth in the area, along with the absence of nearby restaurants and entertainment options.

The fairgrounds remain home to the annual Florida State Fair and other events. In this political climate, with Hillsborough County run by a majority of conservatives skeptical of public subsidies, this would be a stretch, especially if it were to displace something as popular as the annual fair.

Key players: Hillsborough County; Rays.

Tampa Heights

The 49 vacant acres along the Hillsborough River, just north of downtown, were considered one of the ideal locations for a new Rays stadium in 2016. But the property owners weren’t interested, and Armature Works was already slated for development. The idea fell through but remained on the list. Traffic concerns raised further questions.

Today, the area grows with restaurants, apartments, and businesses. What land is left for something as big as a stadium?

Key players: Hillsborough County; Rays; Heights developer Adam Harden.

Jefferson High School

The Rays seriously considered Jefferson High School’s 62-acre property for a new stadium. On paper, it seemed like one of the best options: an urban location in Tampa’s West Shore district, surrounded by office towers, restaurants, condos and parking garages.

But the idea was unpopular with the community, making the plan difficult to achieve. Jefferson still operates as a public high school.

Key players: Hillsborough County School Board; Rays.

Sulphur Springs

Tampa Greyhound Track in Sulphur Springs was on the list of possible sites, offering ample parking and easy access. As the site selection progressed, it lost support and failed to meet the Rays’ needs. One major issue was its location outside the urban center, in one of Tampa’s less-developed areas. This made it unfit for the kind of urban and commercial growth that MLB teams typically seek for their stadiums.

Key players: Hillsborough County; Rays.

Midtown Tampa

The area at the intersection of N. Dale Mabry Highway and W. Cypress Street in Tampa, just south of Interstate 275, was one of the locations considered for a new stadium between 2016 and 2017. Despite high expectations due to its central location, the idea of building a new Rays stadium on the site was never realized. The New York-based Bromley Companies, the property owner, explored several other potential projects over the years.

The site is now a mixed-use hub with offices, apartments, hotels, restaurants and shops — a highest and best use that won’t budge for something like a stadium.

Key players: Hillsborough County; Rays.

WestShore Plaza

Mammoth redevelopment project already underway in a central location between Tampa and St. Petersburg? What’s not to like about a place with easy access to Tampa International Airport and I-275.

The Tampa City Council signed off on a deal last year that would tear down the WestShore Plaza mall and replace it with a massive new district with shopping, apartments, offices, medical facilities and more. Those plans are in flux these days as development has stalled for nearly a year and no demolition permit has been pulled yet and the property is actually up for sale.

Meanwhile, the mall anchors are leaving — including Dick’s Sporting Goods moving up the street to International Plaza and Macy’s closing completely. While there may be room for negotiation to add a stadium here, it’s unclear how long the current developers are interested in seeing any new project through. In the past, the Rays have raised concerns about the location because of flight path restrictions at the airport.

Key players: Tampa officials; developer WPG.

Tampa Bay and Montreal

In 2019, Major League Baseball granted the Rays permission to explore a plan to split their season between Florida and Montreal.

MLB rejected the idea in 2022 and it remains wildly unpopular among the league’s front offices.

Key players: Sternberg, Rays owner; MLB.

Orlando

Efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Central Florida continued as the Orlando Dreamers, a group founded in 2019, led the initiative. They secured hundreds of millions in verbal commitments from potential investors to fund a $1.7 billion ballpark near the Orange County Convention Center, designed to seat 45,000 spectators. The stadium was planned as part of a larger complex that includes restaurants, a hotel, shops and a parking lot.

The initiative is still in place.

Key players: The Orlando Dreamers; Barry Larkin (MLB ambassador for the Dreamers)

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