Proposed Baseball Stadium 'Appears To Be On Life Support': Report

A plan to build a new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays "appears to be on life support," according to a new report.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday that the Woodson African American Museum of Florida removed its request for $10 million in public funds from a Pinellas County Commission meeting.

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The City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County last summer approved public funding for a new baseball stadium, residences, shops, restaurants, offices and the museum — which would also include Negro league baseball exhibits. The Rays reportedly committed $10 million to the $38.3 million museum project, which would have opened with the stadium in 2028.

However, project approvals were delayed after Hurricane Milton ripped through Tropicana Field, the Rays' current home, destroying its roof and rendering it unplayable for the immediate future. The Rays now face a March 31 deadline to meet several stipulations to release the public funds, and owner Stuart Sternberg recently told the Times he isn't sure what he'll do.

The Rays will play their home games this season at Tampa's George Steinbrenner Field, home of the Yankees' Single-A affiliate. The team has said delays in votes have pushed the opening of a new stadium to 2029.

According to the Times' Colleen Wright, the Woodson Museum's plan to open with the Rays' new stadium "depended on whether the Woodson could raise enough money to start construction on time."

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If the Rays can't be moved out of the Tampa Bay region, and Sternberg can't find the money to fund his new ballpark, selling the team "may be the most likely resolution," according to the Times' Marc Topkin.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said the city should support the museum "regardless of which path the Rays take," according to the St. Petersburg Catalyst.

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Writing about the importance of the city's plans to "revitalize" the Historic Gas Plant District with the ballpark and museum project, the Catalyst's Mark Parker notes:

(St. Petersburg) officials began razing the area in the late 1970s to make way for the interstate and, eventually, a stadium with no team. Displaced residents and business owners, including the mayor's family, were promised jobs and economic revitalization. Those promises remain deferred, and Welch has sought to make amends through the largest project in St. Petersburg's history.

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