This week was the deadline to submit redevelopment plans to the St Petersburg mayor’s office for the 86 acre patch of real estate where Tropicana Field. Four groups submitted bids…including the Rays ownership group.
Their proposal includes a new stadium, housing with 5700 multi-family units, 1.4 million square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of retail, 700 hotel rooms, 600 senior living residences and a 2,500 capacity entertainment venue.
So, yay, done deal, right? Not so fast, my friend. Read this from The Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2022/12/03/rays-tropicana-field-redevelopment-stadium-ken-welch-stu-sternberg/?outputType=amp
Now, if it actually happens, the Rays will likely require a temporary home later this decade while the new one is built.
Mo matter what, this is not the end of the story.
Fan Interference 
Tampa is always in the bottom 5 in attendance. Is it a stadium problem or is there just general apathy toward the team? They are generally a playoff contender, it seems there would be more interest. From the little I’ve read it seems part of the issue is the location of the stadium. How does putting a new stadium in the same place improve that?
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The team gets good local TV ratings. It’s not apathy. The stadium is bad and was outdated when the Rays moved in back in 1998. The location isn’t great—partly because of traffic, partly because the mass transit isn’t great and parking isn’t cheap, and partly because there simply isn’t a lotto do in that area otherwise. The proposal would, presumably, fix the bad stadium part and is intended to revitalize the area with bars and restaurants and other entertainment options. Obviously ease of access would remain an issue unless the city addresses that.
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