It’s a good day for folks who love watching baseball at Tropicana Field. Today, at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said that his team’s $892 million stadium plan for historic Ybor City has fallen apart.
“No new ballpark will be built and the three-year window granted to the team by the City of St. Petersburg to negotiate for a new ballpark will come to a close without any deal,” NBC Sports wrote. “The Tampa Bay Rays appear to be stuck in Tropicana Field through 2027.”
The news comes on the same day that fans found out about Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s disheartening letter to Hillsborough County officials, which blasted them for the deal’s poor framework, lack of specifics and commitment from the public.
“We were not close to a workable framework,” Sternberg said.
It’s bad news for baseball fans who see Tropicana Field as one of the worst ballparks in the majors since it looks like the team may now be stuck there through the duration of a lease that doesn’t end until 2027.
This is a developing story, but I can't help thinking about how and if this is going to affect the music scene in the district.
This article appears in Dec 6-13, 2018.