The Tampa Bay Rays are searching for a new home..sort of...

The Rays are contractually binded to Tropicana Field until 2027

The New Home of the Rays? Probably not...maybe Montreal...

Since the franchise's creation in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays have played at Tropicana Field, which was also home to soccer's Tampa Bay Land Sharks from 1990-1996. However, due to the lack of fan-friendly seating for baseball games and the poor, aging condition of the dome, Tampa Bay Rays ownership has continued to explore options in building a new ballpark. In November of 2007, the Rays primary owner (Stu Sternberg)announced plans of building a sparkling new, downtown ballpark on the site of the team's old Spring Training Facility, Al Lang Field. At a cost of $450 Million, the ballpark would seat 34,000 fans and be open to the elements, but have a retractable roof that will open or close within eight minutes. It would have been the most unique in baseball because the roof consisted of a light weatherproof fabric pulled over the playing field by a hoist tower in center-field. It would have all the same modern amenities as every other ballpark built and have air conditioned concourses with views of the field (because, well, it's Florida). In May, 2008, the Rays announced their financing plan to construct the park. Owner Stu Sternberg would contribute $150 million, $70 million would come from the sale of Tropicana Field, $75 million from the City of Tampa Bay, $100 million from the tourist development tax that was used to construct Tropicana Field and $55 million from parking revenues. The Rays would pay for any cost overruns. Unfortunately, on June 24, 2008, the Rays announced they were abandoning their ambitious plans to build the park on the downtown waterfront by 2012. The stadium has been delayed indefinitely because Tampa Bay officials complained that the city and county were being rushed to commit millions of public $$$ for the project. In June, 2010, the Rays announced that they would explore all options outside of the Tampa Bay area. Since 2012, there has been little to no progress in the Rays quest to have a new ballpark built as the team is contractually tied to Tropicana Field until 2027. In 2014, Stu Sternberg talked with his friends on Wall Street about moving the Rays to Montreal if the stadium issue is not resolved and/or Tropicana Field crumbles down to it's own accord.