Yesterday it was the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin’s turn to have a go at “What will the Rays do for a stadium now that Tropicana Field’s roof was ripped off by Hurricane Milton?”, and here one would think that Topkin’s famed tightness with Rays management could actually provide some valuable insights. Unfortunately, either Rays officials aren’t talking or don’t know themselves what the future holds, because what we get from Topkin is a whole lot more speculation and conjecture — but let’s see if there’s any actual information hiding in the weeds of his article:
About the only thing that seems certain is that the team won’t be able to open the 2025 Major League Baseball season at home as planned on March 27.
This is the line that is getting attention, as other news outlets have started citing it as confirmation that the roof repair definitely can’t be done by opening day. And maybe it can’t, but as a longtime professional journalist and editor myself, I am obligated to inform you that when someone sneaks in that word “seems,” it’s a giveaway that they want to say something without actually having proof. If Topkin knew for sure that the Rays won’t be able to play at the Trop on March 27, he would have written “the only thing that is certain,” but he did not.
Is Topkin hearing from informed sources that the roof can’t be repaired in time for opening day? Is he just hearing it from scuttlebutt and rumor? Is he just looking at the shredded roof and going, “Yeah, that looks bad”? Could be any of the above.
There are indications of extensive damage elsewhere at the stadium. For example, some team offices on the fourth floor, which had drop ceilings under the overall roof, are now open to the elements.
This is a good point and useful information, but also doesn’t really indicate much about when or whether the Rays will be able to return to the stadium, since it’s not like team offices have to reopen in order for the team to play games there.
In a brief memo to staff last week, team leadership acknowledged there were “more questions than answers.” An update to employees is planned this week.
Tl;dr: Rays officials dunno either.
The Rays have to get a sense on whether they are looking for a temporary home for a few months, for a full season or for all three years. Plus, Major League Baseball will have a say, and the players union is sure to be involved.
Well, yeah. Both MLB and the MLBPA have to sign off on any temporary home for the Rays, which will involve looking at both playing conditions and working conditions for the players, such as clubhouse facilities, weight rooms, etc. The union is already engaged in discussions with the league over the A’s temporary move to a minor-league stadium in Sacramento for the next three years; MLBPA officials have been tight-lipped about what they’re demanding in order to give their signoff, so we can probably expect similar regarding the Rays situation. (It’s also possible the league owners could try to override the union by invoking a “force majeure” clause to declare this an emergency situation, but that’s a ways down the road yet.)
There will be a lengthy list of options, maybe 50 locations long, with some more suitable based on length of stay. And all come with concerns such as weather, location, facilities and/or scheduling conflicts based on the primary tenant.
Yup. Among the options suggested by Topkin:
- St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Stadium, Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark, Dunedin’s TD Ballpark, and Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field: Al Lang would need to be reconverted from soccer and tends to flood, while the other three all host minor-league teams that would complicate scheduling.
- Port Charlotte, the Rays’ spring training stadium: Less than 7,00o capacity, nearly 100 miles away from their Tampa Bay fan base, and would likely need housing for players and staff.
- Orlando’s The Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports: Holds either 7,500 or 9,500 fans, depending on which source you trust, and has hosted MLB games on occasion before, but also has a packed schedule.
- Miami’s LoanDepot Park:
Not being used for much during baseball season since the Miami Marlins moved out,[NOTE: Sorry, read quickly and conflated the two corporate-named Miami stadiums; while others have suggested the Dolphins‘ Hard Rock Stadium as an option, Topkin didn’t mention that one.] Has a large capacity and has MLB-ready facilities, but is also all the way across the state and could cause scheduling conflicts with the Marlins. - Durham, Nashville, Charlotte, San Juan, Montreal, Omaha: Now you’re just naming cities.
Topkin doesn’t mention it, but since we’re spitballing: Splitting games between, say, Orlando and Miami, or two of the minor-league ballparks, seems like one reasonable option. Though it would be a nightmare for Rays fans, not to mention for Rays ticket sales — I can only imagine the conversations team sales agents are having right now with season ticket holders about what city and/or state their tickets will be good for next year.
Back to assessing the damage:
There is more damage to the stadium that opened in 1990 without a primary tenant.
Engineering experts are expected on the property within the next week to get a better sense of the overall structural integrity (such as whether the roof struts are in danger of falling), the condition of the large video board and other features that were not designed to be exposed to elements, and other damage throughout the building, such as the exposed offices.
So there’s more damage than just the roof being ripped off, but we won’t know for a week or so how serious it is. That’s fine and fair reporting, but still doesn’t tell us much other than that if you’re going to replace the roof, you need to have viable struts to attach it to.
The city of St. Petersburg is responsible and has insurance to cover the costs.
We can dispense with “Why replace the roof on a stadium that’s about to be torn down?” at least: Because insurance will cover it.
A related issue is whether the overall damage throughout the Tampa Bay area leads to a delay in the timetable for the new stadium, which was to have its groundbreaking in January.
And will there be any revision in the glass-heavy design? Should it be fortified against higher than the Category 4 winds officials say it can withstand?
And what will the new stadium’s roof be made of? It sure looks translucent, which could be either glass or fabric, but I still haven’t been able to find any documentation on what material it will be or what force winds it would be rated for. (Topkin or one of the other two contributors to this article could have called Populous, the stadium architects, to ask, but apparently didn’t.)
So, not much more information here than we had before, other than that Rays officials seem very concerned about having a place to play come March, which one would hope they would be. More news in a week or so, maybe, once engineers have gotten a good look at those struts.
When did the Marlins move out of loanDepot Park?
I think he meant Hard Rock Stadium where they played before, but I am not sure if its still usable for baseball since the Dolphins did a big renovation after the Marlins left
Oh, you’re right, I thought Topkin meant Hard Rock since that had been suggested elsewhere. Will correct now.
With the changes to hard rock stadium, baseball can no longer be accommodated.
Not an option.
If they were going to try to play baseball in a football stadium, the Buccs’ stadium is closer.
Absolutely.
And I’ve heard it suggested that the dimensions “could” work for baseball.
There’s also the rowdies soccer stadium that could also host baseball.
Either makes way more sense than playing in Miami.
Al Lang field has been reconfigured for soccer, sort of. As I recall, the Rays own the Rowdies so they could decide to screw over that team to put the Rays there, but it still is not very big. Less than 7,500.
The Threshers’ stadium in nearby Clearwater is even bigger than that and it is set up for baseball. They would have to make a deal with the Phillies, of course.
Or they could just go to Home Depot and buy a whole lot of duck tape and those tarps people use to cover wood piles and use those to fix the roof.
Pensacola would be cool for a year
If you want maximum chaos that also wouldn’t require a major temporary rebrand: I present to you the Tokyo Bay Rays.
Has anyone heard from Greensboro yet? Maybe the Greensboro Grasshoppers will share their stadium.
Moving to a spring training facility not in the Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater area would be a horrible decision, basically an F-U to the fans they do have. They’d be better off moving to a AAA park in another state.
If the gameday experience for Tampa Bay people for the next 3 seasons involves driving to Port Charlotte- that’s the worst way possible to get them ready for the new stadium.
You know, have the Rays barnstorm for a season to gauge MLB expansion possibilities. Couldn’t hurt.
As much as I’d love to see the Port Ruppert Mundys come to life, this would likely put a damper on Rays ticket and TV revenues.
Whether and how MLB reimburses Sternberg for lost income is another of the big questions about the upcoming season(s).
And the Rays’ local TV contract is with Diamond Sports Group, which is still in Chapter 11 at the time of this post.
It would be funny to have double headers with games between 2 different sets of teams
There were times when the Florida State League had an odd number of teams, and teams would host weird doubleheaders where they would play two different teams.
You can do that when all the teams are within a few hours’ drive, though.
“It would be funny to have double headers with games between 2 different sets of teams”
Sacramento says hi.
There was an op-ed I caught this morning on the topic that I thought was worthwhile.
https://www.cltampa.com/tampa/op-ed-the-shredded-trop-and-a-fallen-crane-illustrate-the-foolishness-in-st-petes-priorities/Slideshow/18770755/18770770
Temporary contraction (3-4 years) good-night A’s and Rays!
Way too expensive — the other MLB owners would never go for it.
Well it would cost somewhere on the order of $2.5 billion (assuming the A’s and Rays are both worth about the same and Forbes estimate is correct at $1.2B for the A’s). I’d also assume the A’s and Rays are getting revenue sharing of $60 million/year each so that’s $120 million/year just in revenue sharing checks not to mention whatever cut of the central MLB pie each team gets (which is actually probably more than $60 million/year/team). so while it might be expensive I don’t think it is as bad as one would first think. I’d guess in less than 10 years the other owners would get their money back. Pluss how well does Tampa draw as an opponent (I think Oakland is okay but Tampa has always been terrible). If teams can get rid of Tampa/oakland dates on the schedule and fill them with more desirable teams that’s a further win.
All this said I’ll agree with Neil that contraction isn’t happening, MLBPA would never go for it as it would cost 80 out of 1200 jobs.
He said “temporary contraction” as in MLB pays Oakland and Tampa not to play for 3 years. I can’t even imagine how much that would cost but it does line up nicely…..
And what happens to their players who are under contract? Their minor league systems? Do the owners get revenue during that time? Are their TV contracts honored?
This would be a huge mess to even conceive of – plus, as several people have noted, the union would immediately veto it as not allowed under the CBA. I can’t imagine it would be anything other than a Plan Z.
I know Neil!
It’s insane!
I had a similar thought. If a team is forced to played in a minor league ballpark, they get temporarily relegated to the minors. They can get re-promoted when the next season when the venue is ready.
I was thinking the 2 teams suspend play until MLB facilities are complete. Of course MLBPA will never accept the temporary loss of jobs. If MLB teams have to subsidize the Rays and/or A’s for being forced into minor league venues, I am sure many of the large market clubs putting money into revenue sharing will have their accountants calculating if it is better for them to have 2 less teams for a few years.
How would it be better for them to sell zero tickets than hardly any tickets?
Someone mentioned the Rowdies’ stadium.
That would be Al Lang Stadium, just down the street from the Trop. The Rays own the Rowdies, and would likely be able to have an easier time using it.
HOWEVER, it was “de-baseball-ized” several years ago. The dugouts were removed, all the baseball walls were taken out, the field was re-done. The main grandstand (7k, maybe?) remains, but they’d have to “re-baseball-ize” it in short order AND have the Rowdies play somewhere else. (Which is not the hardest thing to do. They could play at USF or the Riverfront Stadium where the Super League Sun play, conceivably.)
All that said, they haven’t even done the damage assessment, so drawing up plans today is just an exercise. We are doing no more than Topkin did – speculate.
Couldn’t the Rowdies and Rays share Al Lang just like the Yankees and NYCFC do? This seems like the best scenario since it’s the same ownership group. Maybe the Rays could even make improvements to Al Lang that would benefit the Rowdies once the Rays get their new stadium and leave both teams better off.
Al Lang only holds about 7,000, it floods frequently, and it’s currently closed from hurricane damage. Other than that…
On behalf of my city, and because another city took our teams in for a spell, I nominate the Superdome here in New Orleans. They’ve hosted baseball before (exhibitions, but it can be done) and aside from Essence Fest on the weekend closest to July 4th, and the early part of the Saints schedule, they have a mostly empty venue.
I ask “why not?”
“Because insurance will cover it” is weak reasoning. They could just put the insurance check into the new stadium they just signed up to build.
That’s not usually how insurance for catastrophic damage works. You can’t just total a building and pocket the check – that’s why we have a new World Trade Center even though nobody really wanted to rent space in one.
Yeah, they’d be getting a check for the present value of the stadium (maybe plus cleanup), not it’s replacement cost.
I’m not saying it wouldn’t still be something to consider, but we aren’t talking about $1bn or even half that in payout. Maybe a quarter of the cost, some of which they would have to pay to Sternberg for not having a place to play for the next three years.
If you’re looking at spring training sites in the region, may as well consider the Orioles’ stadium in Sarasota. Less scheduling conflicts there, they only have a GCL team that usually plays games in the mornings.
GCL stands for Gulf Coast League, the Rookie-level setup that’s now called the Florida Complex League.
Repairing Tropicana Field shouldn’t be the top priority. Thousands of homeowners and small businesses also have structural and water damage to repair that will keep carpenters, electricians and engineers busy for years. And then there’s next years hurricane season. Nashville and Charlotte are frequently mentioned as potential MLB cities, this would be a good opportunity to try these markets.
TV ratings in Japan for Dodger playoff games are thru the roof. If Manfred really wanted to make a boatload of money- move the A’s and the Rays to Japan.
Tokyo Bay Rays
Osaka Athletics
The former Legends is the best temp location they have available. And it can hold all the Rays’ existing fans without expansion…
But wouldn’t it be funny if, having failed in his gambit to move his team to the NY area for a decade or two, Sternberg just applied to move them to Oakland for three years?
Yeah, I know it won’t happen.
Very nice temp facilities can be built in a matter of weeks or months (depending on how many seats you want and what sort of player and fan amenities you need). Companies like NUSSLI specialize in this sort of thing.
With a number of minor league facilities available, I doubt the Rays will go for (or ask to be allowed to consider) this option, but it is a viable one.
Why not New Orleans? The Superdome has housed full-season minor-league teams such as the Zephyrs–the Mets AAA team several years ago. So baseball should pose little problem with slight revamping. New Orleans is a proven big-league city with the NFL and NBA so the traditionally successful Rays might even draw well there and put itself on the map for future MLB expansion. New Orleans sits on the Gulf of Mexico as does St. Pete so they could be called the Gulf Coast Rays for the 2 years in an additional plan about to be suggested. The present fanbase could easily vacation for a week every summer if they wished with New Orleans and its attractions being a desirable destination not that far from each other. TV and radio rights could be arranged to beam their games into both locations. A few selected series could be played in the Rays spring training stadium in Port Charlotte, FL. From a geographical perspective, the AL East travel wouldn’t be affected much. I’d do a 2-year deal in New Orleans and modernize The Trop (on St. Pete’s insurance + negotiated bond money) and plan to reopen The Trop on Opening day 2027. It could be outfitted with proper drainage and a real retractable roof for far less cost than a new stadium built from scratch. New office space and up-to-date luxury boxes could be added to give the appearance of a brand new facility. Redevelopment of the area could proceed with shopping, restaurants and housing.