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Being that the company that installed the roof is on record recently saying the roof was beyond it's useful life it's incredibly unlikely instance would've covered it anyways. It would have been very easy to prove negligence by not replacing the roof based on manufacturers recommendations.
have the players play in the open air for 3 years. It's FL, near the Gulf. That's not that hot. Warm weather states really should have open air stadiums. Maybe it would give the team an advantage (like Turner Field in Atlanta) when pansy players can't take the heat. If they must play somewhere else, I hear the Oakland Coliseum is available.
Major league baseball is DEAD! For plenty of major league teams... The state a florida doesn't care about major baseball... good weather weather round, distractions like the beach towns, theme parks, a thousand other distractions.... that do not include taking in a ball game... It's just a bad market for major teams. Great place for spring ball, but that's it. No real market.
The Rays have played their last game at the Trop. $25 million max insurance payout means there will not be any money going into a stadium that will only be used for 3 more years. Rays are playing in minor league ballpark for 3-4 seasons, and their new stadium will start construction earlier than expected as a result.
@@TheSonicsean Tearing down an old NHL arena in Edmonton Canada was just quoted at being around 40 million dollars. I would imagine it would have similar costs to team down the Trop. I believe that cost was already worked into the new Stadium projects budget though.
It won't because they won't go through with spending that money. The value of the stadium is worth less than the repair bill, otherwise known in the insurance industry as a write-off.
I’m expecting a write off of the Trop. What will be interesting is whether a three-year absence of the team changes the tenor of the new stadium conversation. Pinellas county is facing a massive array of challenges in Milton’s aftermath-yesterday’s priorities like a new stadium will take a backseat.
They have some real geniuses at work in St. Petersburg..... when the Trop was built, its roof was only given a 20 yr life expectancy. It is still the (was) original roof and is some 14+ yrs past its life expectancy.
Nobody in St. Pete is doing a cost/benefit analysis of anything involving the Rays. The prestige and pride of having an MLB team is going to bankrupt St. Pete.
I feel before they do anything to spend any money on the damages they need to check out the building for mold. It's been nearly a month since the hurricane. Nevermind any future damages. They need to focus on the damages that been sitting for weeks. I still don't believe it's a good idea to reopen Tropicana Field. They should have it closed permanently!
This looks like a classic case of being penny rich and pound poor. There are many times saving a little bit in the short term costs a lot more long term.
This is why you never cut back on your insurance coverage if you can help it. What you'll save on premiums isn't worth the risk if you actually need to use the insurance coverage.
They say 6.5 million for clean-up but we all know it will end up being more like 10-12 million. It's a waste of money for a stadium you are knocking down in a couple years. Use that money to find a place to play for a couple years.
After the A's played their last game in Oakland and Hurricane Milton was bearing down on Florida's mid West Coast, the Baseball Gods said to their boss, God, now that there will never be another game at the Oakland Coliseum, wouldn't it be nice if this Hurricane meant that there will also never be another game at Tropicana Field. Then God said, Great idea, watch this!
If I were the Rays et al I'd take any payout, bowl the stadium and immediately try to get shovels in the ground on the replacement. Try to beat inflation on your new venue cost estimates. Saving the Trop beyond make safe work is throwing good money after bad
If they were smart, they would declare it a loss tear it down and build a brand new stadium right on the spot. I mean they were considering building a new ballpark and it was a good time to do it right there where the old one was.
The $25 million insurance will cover that cleanup, but that would leave around $19 million left to replace the roof, which will cost much, much more than that.
The cost of cleanup and reconstruction will outweigh the opportunity cost of whatever they lose for playing in a minor league park for the next few years. Let's be real, attendance was bad anyway
My understanding is that they do very well on TV. Moving to a minor league park could be a net win regardless. TV fans keep following same as always and baseball fans in a place like Orlando might result in higher ticket sales even though capacity is much lower. Given this insurance news I can't possibly see them going back to the Trop, there's just no upside.
If the "new rays ballpark" or whatever its going to be called has to be in St. Pete, a little forward thinking like installing the rail lines on the new Howard Frankland bridge should have been part of its day one opening. Not a "future expansion" that will most likely never happen. I swear this area never thinks more than 5 years ahead. ...Or just build the dang stadium IN Tampa.
I read a report up here in Canada, that stated that there were talks about letting them use the Blue Jays spring training facility. But I haven't heard anything else about that.
It would be a good place for an AL East team if the minor league team doesn’t need it, but it’s not good for the players. No point upsetting the union and owners. Minor league stadium in the Tampa area makes more sense except for the playoffs.
@@ericberkowitz688the Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Pirates, Tigers, and Orioles all play their Spring Training ball in the Tampa Bay area. Of those, only the Orioles don’t also have a Single-A FSL team using the same place from April onwards.
@@sblack53 true; my point is moreso that it’s too much to ask of the players and the people who work for the team to do that. The union may grieve over it and it’s not worth the fight.
Look at what Qatar did for the 2022 World Cup. They built a temporary 40k+ soccer stadium out of steel and repurposed shipping containers. Maybe the Rays could build something like that……? That may sound crazy, but that soccer stadium was two levels, a baseball stadium would only need to be one level
I think the rays are going to have to make some hard choices: 1) Is Tropicana Field worth Saving both to the Rays and the City of St Petersburg? 2) Is there funding for the new stadium secured? 3) Do the Rays want to stay in the Tampa Bay Area or move elsewhere else? 4) How many games or seasons will they need a temporary stadium for? Depending on which path is made this could range from a few months of a season to over three seasons. 5) If the Rays stay in the Tampa Bay Area or in Florida, which ballpark(s) can accommodate their schedules and seating capacity needs? Some have suggested the rays move temporarily to stadiums such as Steinbrenner Field, Al Lang Stadium, BayCare Ballpark, Walt Disney World Wide of Sports Stadium, Charlotte Sports Park, Ed Smith Stadium, JetBlue Park, Raymond James Stadium, or even sharing LoanDepot Park with the Marlins. 6) Is it better or more cost effective for the rays to temporarily relocate out of town? Initially there was some talk of them moving to North Carolina or Montreal. But these were dismissed as possibilities. Others have expressed interest including Nashville, Omaha, Oakland, and the like too. 7) What is the risk of another Hurricane damaging Florida or delaying the construction of the new stadium? They need to factor in this in making their choices. With Climate Change, hurricane strength and frequency are increasing.
Not to mention the money St. Pete is already dishing out to this day for clean-up and infrastructure. That, with insurance woes, I just don't see the value of repairing Tropicana. I almost feel like they would be better off cutting the cord and letting the team play in Orlando for a few years.
Worst commissioner in pro sports history. The MLB is in a much more precarious financial state than the public realizes. Two teams without stadiums, plus 4 teams that are for sale or need new stadiums within the next decade. And that's on top of the loss of revenue coming from the collapse of Regional Sports Networks. Game popularity is declining and the league is dying slowly over the past decades. Only thing that saves the sport is a salary cap system like the NHL.
@@sblack53 Tampa is the result of a recent natural disaster and finding a home for them to play in next season is still unfolding, but the Oakland A's playing in Sacramento is Manfred's own personal disaster. As commissioner he should have shut Fisher's toddler tantrum down and negotiated a deal between the city of Oakland and the A's to play in Oakland until Vegas was complete and ready to move in. All other options should have been off the table out of respect to the players, the media, the fans, and the other teams in the league (who now have to play in a little league stadium with no amenities too). That was what the situation called for: a strong Commissioner who could negotiate a deal. Instead, he folded like a cheap suit. He enabled the John Fisher shit show that is about to unfurl before our eyes next season and put one more dent in MLB's reputation.
Wow! Can you imagine being a family whose home was leveled and your living out of a hotel or wherever, and you see local, state and federal funds going towards a “new roof” for a baseball team? OMG! I’d be unglued! Where are the priorities? And unless the owner of the them is putting in a significant amount to help defray the costs, I’d would give this “bandage” for the Trop, a thumbs down!
This is more like a family living in city government owned housing having their home leveled by a disaster, which a city would certainly do everything in their power to fix. Remember that the City of St. Petersburg built and owns the Trop, and collects rent from the Rays and other occasional tenants.
@@sblack53 I get it, and hopefully they do everything they can to help all that where affected by the hurricane. Even though the city government owns the stadium, I still think priorities should come into play. Housing for all, along with all the essentials should come before a revamped stadium. And I’m sure this won’t be the last of the bad weather for Florida.
You have done such a great job of covering this. I am concerned for Tampa that they won't build this new ball park now. If there is so much to be done on the city and construction delays continue, it could wind up not happening. If they move to Orlando for a few years which seems to me the logical place because Thunderstorms don’t come regularly (and it's not a horrible drive from Tampa) I th8nk you could see, with really good attendance, talk of them moving there pemminently. Whether it would happen is another issue.
There's no way they don't play some games in Tampa, Clearwater, or Dunedin. You'd be in a situation that some local fans wouldn't be able to go to games.
could you do a video on the minor league parks in the Tampa bay area that the rays can consider..one being Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. they are also considering using their spring training field in Port Charlotte. Orlando would not be a good option. Chances are, like the A's, the Rays will abandon the Trop and play in a minor league park until the new stadium is ready. It's ironic that the 2 teams that need to be settled before MLB expands are going through the same issues!
My thought process here: 1. With a new stadium being planned/built for 2028, why waste money fixing up Tropicana Field? 2. I say have them play at a minor league stadium. I mean, it's not like the Rays draw high crowds anyway? (yes I know that's a low hanging fruit way to bash the team)
I actually liked the Trop. The only things wrong with it were ballpark concession prices (but that’s an issue in many stadia) and artificial turf (which they needed because the fixed roof didn’t allow enough light inside to support grass). I liked that one could walk 360° around the stadium just above the lower bowl, and even a modest crowd sounded so loud, I had to turn off my hearing aids. People complain about the access to the stadium, but there are many stadia where driving to/from is a pain. Should the new ballpark be closer to Tampa? Sure, but Tampa didn’t want the Tays before or last year, so the new stadium had to be in St. Pete. Now, whether the team is better off moving to Nashville, Charlotte, or Montreal is another story…
I don't know the full extent of everything going on here but weather-wise I think the months of spring and early summer are favorable enough to play roof-less, at least until hurricane season arrives next July or August. That should buy enough time to decide what to do with the Rays.
Playing in the Orlando area is at best a short-term solution - outdoors in Florida in summer is a no-go given the almost daily late-afternoon/early evening thunderstorms coupled with the heat and humidity. Also traffic on I-4 between Orlando and Tampa is horrendous (think LA type traffic!) - what fan base you had in Tampa/St.Pete isn't driving to Orlando. If you had to play outdoors in a spring training facility, I think you'd want to find one closer to Tampa/St. Pete.
If the city is gonna spend 6.5 million in clean up etc... costs then it sounds like there gonna keep the stadium, use the 6.5 for demolition costs make deal with insurance company and move on to build the new one, play ball at the Yankees facility in town,
Trop is cursed. They built a baseball-only stadium, without a team, and got passed over or Miami to play baseball in a football only stadium. They reached the end of life for the roof, and didn't replace or refurbish it, then cut insurance coverage on a fully amortized roof, AFTER seeing other fabric roofs fail. Did they look at a "model" of how expensive being cheap was??
I wonder if Orlando might make a play to build a new stadium for the Rays and just have them become the Orlando Rays. The city did fairly recently (11 years ago) vote to use public funds for Orlando City's stadium, what's to stop them from offering tourism tax dollars for a new MLB stadium?
might take more then 3 years for them to move to that new ballpark, that park could also be screwed up by some hurricane during construction. You're still going to need that Tropicana Field in the end, no reason to make planned expectations with zero guarantees even existing.
Before everyone goes off moaning and groaning about the premiums/coverage, get yourself an insurance expert. Assets decline in value over time so why insure them as if they were brand new. A 2024 Ford 150 is worth a lot more than the same pick-up that's 10 years old. You will only recover replacement costs or cost of repairs whichever is less from the carrier. Would you still insure an old clunker for collision? The stadium/roof outlived its useful life. What's it really worth?
Just move the team now. Tampa Bay can reset itself and build a new ballpark over the next 10 years and attract a new team then. That's how they got the Rays..
Wow. That doesnt leave many great options (Dunedin, Clearwater, or reconvert Al Lang for baseball i'd guess, and all of these are less than 9k seats). If St. Pete takes a hard line stance on that we might just lose the team. I sure hope not.
Temporarily moving the Rays to Orlando would be a very interesting real time case study on which Central Florida city is a more viable baseball market. There’s no way the MLB gives Florida a third team so the Rays moving to Orlando is their only chance of getting a franchise.
I would like to see multiple parks used during the season. Split it up between Blue jays, Yankees, Phillies, Al Lang, & Disney complex. Giving time for each park to get ready, gives fans access and promotes the parks. I love the Trop but i don't believe it will be playable again.
As a long time Floridian who knows the lay of the land pretty good I think moving the team to Orlando would be a good thing. They will draw more fans in Orlando then St Pete. St Pete is just a Terrible location. Any location off of I 4 between Tampa and Orlando would be better.. NOBODY wants to drive over jammed packed bridges to go to St Pete. If they build a new park in St Pete it will be a huge failure too.
Honestly, I can see why the city would not want to spend money on this. They sink massive amounts of public money into stadiums to begin with and now the whole city is in need of that money. Let the Rays deal with it and spend tax money where it's really needed. Having a baseball team isn't more important than having a city.
I LOVED watching the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions playing in the "elements" yesterday. As reported it was unbelievably the Lions first game outdoors this year. I'm not a fan of domed stadiums. But if the local and state taxpayers are willing to pony up for what is becoming more and more expensive to build and maintain so be it. Obviously building a stadium with a fabric roof in a hurricane zone was a disaster waiting to happen. How ironic that the council thought their good fortune on not having a disaster would last!
Baseball is not meant to be played in inclement weather. How would you like to be a batter watching a 100 MPH pitch sail at your head because the pitcher lost his grip due to rain?
What in the heck is the point of this? They aren’t going to play there ever again. Might as well accelerate plans to build new stadium and tear the Trop down.
It's unbelievable St. Pete would reduce their insurance premium but yep, they sure did. I guess that field in Orlando will work for up to 3-4 seasons I think a lot of FL. retirees love watching Rays on T.V. and they'll take get great deals on bus trips back and forth to the Orlando stadium. I would think it would cost way over 100 million to repair The Trop I doubt they will bother. If they build a new stadium in Tampa or St. Pete just remember people will still not fill the seats there's way too many people living there and the traffic is horrible I mean absolutely brutal but I'll admit Miami is worse lol. This story is going have many more twists and turns it'll be fascinating to watch from the front row seats.
This is so embarrassing to be not only a Rays fan, but that Rays fans have to deal with the ownership and the city government because they don't care that much about the team.
Buffalo Rays 2025! Make it happen. The Triple A stadium already has upgrades from the Blue Jays playing there during the pandemic and geographically it is close to the other teams in the division. Come on MLB, bring the majors back to Buffalo for a little while!
$6.5 million is a waste of money for repairs, just put it to a new stadium hopefully somewhere out of Florida. MLB won't have a plan for the rays until spring training starts in 2025 or even later. The rays should build that bridge to Nashville.
The stadium at Disney only holds 7+K seats. The soccer stadium down the road or their spring training facility at Port Charlotte holds close to the same number. Unless Disney is will to pay the Rays $$$$, I doubt they would move to Orlando.
Well it isn't like there isn't precedence for an MLB team using a Minor League Park.. The Blue Jays played in Buffalo's Sahlen Field for 2020 when they couldn't get back into Canada. The A's are about to play at Sutter Health Park for 3 years or better, so it wouldn't be unheard of for the Rays to temporarily reside in a Minor League Park for up to 3 years if necessary.
Would it help the city to build a new stadium if they can now just use the current site? If the team is going to play in a temp stadium for 3 years, then they could just start demolition of the Trop and build there rather than going to a new location. I know there’s debate about keeping the team in St Pete but if it’s going to stay there anyway, I wonder if this could potentially make things easier if they can build a new stadium at the same location. Repairing the roof would just be burning money.
I was thinking the exact same thing. This would give them more flexibility with the land use on the new ballpark. They could still build the village concept, but just have more land options at play now.
Actually a team in Northern New Jersey makes a ton of more sense than in NYC proper in the 5 boroughs. Too bad the Yanks, Mets and Phillies have territory rights and any idea of a New Jersey MLB club expansion or a relocation is Dead on arrival.
not to mention these council members are facing re-election. Its possible that the new makeup of the city council could re-examine the new ballpark deal and decide to shut it down. then what?
What bozos. The stadium is old, and is located in a hurricane-prone area. Worst case, they pay the higher premium for 3 years until their new digs are ready. Not a big deal. Especially compared to what happened. How short-sighted is St. Petersburg, anyway? Also, I'd love an update on the retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was unable to be opened a couple of weekends ago on a beautiful day due to "mechanical issues", and was also unable to be opened during one of their preseason games this year. Is this anything like Chase Field in PHX? Does Jim Irsay have any track record of maintenance?
Just leave the darn thing off. Put in a drainage system and call it a day. Deal with the rain for a couple years or share Loan Depo Park on occasion. Waist of money to do anything significant with that place. At least the Giants are playing there. 😅
Where does the “city” get the funds to foot the bill if the insurance does not pay? Taxes that the locals will be paying in perpetuity. I’m so tired of sports leagues extorting public funding.
Honestly they should sell the franchise and let the new owners relocate wherever they want. If this is the end of that franchise nevermind that stadium, literally, who cares? I worked in Tampa for a year and never met a Rays fan. Not kidding.
If you are going to report on this, you should have asked the authorities the questions you asked here. Giving a report is one thing, A better reporter would have information instead of all questions.
if its fiesable i would just do some minor repairs to make it suitable to be an outdoor field for its remaining years... re roofing isn't worth it for 3 years of remaining life.
They can’t do that. Brodie already looked into it. The stadium isn’t built to handle the elements should they remove the roof. There would be problems with the way the drainage system works among other issues without the roof.
Orlando is the least likely. The most likely relocation is the Yankees spring training field in Tampa, which would require juggling Yankees minor league and Rays major league schedules. However, it sounds like MLB is agreeable.
I am guessing that because the local government is now involved, there won't be anymore games ever played there because they will never agree on what to do or fund it all to be fixed. With mold remediation on a place that big alone could be more than the value of the building now. Could be cheaper to just build a new building for sure, although they will fight about it for months if not years. 🤦♂🤷♂
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For a $10 team? No...
Cover the roof with a giant tarp, change stadium name to Tarpacana Field
Brilliant
Of all the states in the nation where you should NEVER cut back on wind and flood insurance, Florida is at the top of the list.
Yeah that seems fishy.
They saved 275K x3 or 825K in premiums, but it will cost them $75M in repairs.
You'd think 🤔
Being that the company that installed the roof is on record recently saying the roof was beyond it's useful life it's incredibly unlikely instance would've covered it anyways.
It would have been very easy to prove negligence by not replacing the roof based on manufacturers recommendations.
SHOULD have used Travelers Insurance. They DO have that GIANT umbrella!!!!!
Underrated comment
Theres absolutely no reason to put a dime into Tropicana field. Just tear it down. If they can play in a minor league park 1 yr, they can do it for 3.
The repair bill is going to be more money than the assessed value of the stadium is. In other words, a write off.
have the players play in the open air for 3 years. It's FL, near the Gulf. That's not that hot. Warm weather states really should have open air stadiums. Maybe it would give the team an advantage (like Turner Field in Atlanta) when pansy players can't take the heat. If they must play somewhere else, I hear the Oakland Coliseum is available.
Major league baseball is DEAD! For plenty of major league teams... The state a florida doesn't care about major baseball... good weather weather round, distractions like the beach towns, theme parks, a thousand other distractions.... that do not include taking in a ball game... It's just a bad market for major teams. Great place for spring ball, but that's it. No real market.
@@hankeng6375 Oakland would be a logistical nightmare as the Rays are in the AL East.....
Let them share A's new little league temp home.
The Rays have played their last game at the Trop. $25 million max insurance payout means there will not be any money going into a stadium that will only be used for 3 more years. Rays are playing in minor league ballpark for 3-4 seasons, and their new stadium will start construction earlier than expected as a result.
Hell tearing it down might cost more than $25 million.
@@TheSonicsean Tearing down an old NHL arena in Edmonton Canada was just quoted at being around 40 million dollars. I would imagine it would have similar costs to team down the Trop. I believe that cost was already worked into the new Stadium projects budget though.
Rays will be relocating to Omaha, Nebraska.
Rays should throw in the towel and play in a temp venue for minimum of 3 years
Thank you. For keeping your eyes on this story.
275,000 in anual premiums will now cost them 50-75 million.
It won't because they won't go through with spending that money. The value of the stadium is worth less than the repair bill, otherwise known in the insurance industry as a write-off.
insurance will reject the claim they wouldn't have paid anything regardless!
Once again, Brodie, you sink your teeth into a topic, and do excellent research. No one has unearthed the Trop issue as deeply as you.
I’m expecting a write off of the Trop. What will be interesting is whether a three-year absence of the team changes the tenor of the new stadium conversation. Pinellas county is facing a massive array of challenges in Milton’s aftermath-yesterday’s priorities like a new stadium will take a backseat.
They have some real geniuses at work in St. Petersburg..... when the Trop was built, its roof was only given a 20 yr life expectancy. It is still the (was) original roof and is some 14+ yrs past its life expectancy.
Thinking about all the mold that will probably grow under the turf thats not removed.
Nobody in St. Pete is doing a cost/benefit analysis of anything involving the Rays. The prestige and pride of having an MLB team is going to bankrupt St. Pete.
Even worse when they sucker the city into owning the stadium.
It's over. They should rethink their life choices.
I feel before they do anything to spend any money on the damages they need to check out the building for mold. It's been nearly a month since the hurricane. Nevermind any future damages. They need to focus on the damages that been sitting for weeks. I still don't believe it's a good idea to reopen Tropicana Field. They should have it closed permanently!
St Pete will just raise the price of beach parking meters by $1.00 to cover the 6.5mill
This looks like a classic case of being penny rich and pound poor. There are many times saving a little bit in the short term costs a lot more long term.
insurance will reject the claim they wouldn't have paid anything regardless!
This is why you never cut back on your insurance coverage if you can help it. What you'll save on premiums isn't worth the risk if you actually need to use the insurance coverage.
They say 6.5 million for clean-up but we all know it will end up being more like 10-12 million. It's a waste of money for a stadium you are knocking down in a couple years. Use that money to find a place to play for a couple years.
After the A's played their last game in Oakland and Hurricane Milton was bearing down on Florida's mid West Coast, the Baseball Gods said to their boss, God, now that there will never be another game at the Oakland Coliseum, wouldn't it be nice if this Hurricane meant that there will also never be another game at Tropicana Field. Then God said, Great idea, watch this!
If I were the Rays et al I'd take any payout, bowl the stadium and immediately try to get shovels in the ground on the replacement. Try to beat inflation on your new venue cost estimates.
Saving the Trop beyond make safe work is throwing good money after bad
They are going to demolish it for parking for the new stadium and redeveloping the area anyway, right?
@JBM425 may as well take every cent from the insurers and use it on the demolition you were about to pay for anyway
If they were smart, they would declare it a loss tear it down and build a brand new stadium right on the spot. I mean they were considering building a new ballpark and it was a good time to do it right there where the old one was.
Temporary internal drainage system = a large number of buckets.
Exactly. Shop vac central.
@@brodiebrazil More like sump pumps and hoses from Harbor Freight Tools.
Have the billionaire team owner repair his own playground.
Move the team to Nashville. Or move the Rays to North Carolina or Virginia
Close it down ! Signed White Sox fan .
6.5M is a lot of money for a city budget expenditure.
The $25 million insurance will cover that cleanup, but that would leave around $19 million left to replace the roof, which will cost much, much more than that.
The cost of cleanup and reconstruction will outweigh the opportunity cost of whatever they lose for playing in a minor league park for the next few years. Let's be real, attendance was bad anyway
My understanding is that they do very well on TV. Moving to a minor league park could be a net win regardless. TV fans keep following same as always and baseball fans in a place like Orlando might result in higher ticket sales even though capacity is much lower. Given this insurance news I can't possibly see them going back to the Trop, there's just no upside.
Rob and Brandi make good points here.
If the "new rays ballpark" or whatever its going to be called has to be in St. Pete, a little forward thinking like installing the rail lines on the new Howard Frankland bridge should have been part of its day one opening. Not a "future expansion" that will most likely never happen. I swear this area never thinks more than 5 years ahead.
...Or just build the dang stadium IN Tampa.
Tampa didn’t want it. That’s why they went back to St. Pete to negotiate a new stadium.
I read a report up here in Canada, that stated that there were talks about letting them use the Blue Jays spring training facility. But I haven't heard anything else about that.
It would be a good place for an AL East team if the minor league team doesn’t need it, but it’s not good for the players. No point upsetting the union and owners. Minor league stadium in the Tampa area makes more sense except for the playoffs.
@@ericberkowitz688the Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Pirates, Tigers, and Orioles all play their Spring Training ball in the Tampa Bay area. Of those, only the Orioles don’t also have a Single-A FSL team using the same place from April onwards.
@@sblack53 true; my point is moreso that it’s too much to ask of the players and the people who work for the team to do that. The union may grieve over it and it’s not worth the fight.
I thought this would give the rays an excuse to break the lease and move to montreal
They should sell the team.
Look at what Qatar did for the 2022 World Cup. They built a temporary 40k+ soccer stadium out of steel and repurposed shipping containers.
Maybe the Rays could build something like that……? That may sound crazy, but that soccer stadium was two levels, a baseball stadium would only need to be one level
I think the rays are going to have to make some hard choices:
1) Is Tropicana Field worth Saving both to the Rays and the City of St Petersburg?
2) Is there funding for the new stadium secured?
3) Do the Rays want to stay in the Tampa Bay Area or move elsewhere else?
4) How many games or seasons will they need a temporary stadium for? Depending on which path is made this could range from a few months of a season to over three seasons.
5) If the Rays stay in the Tampa Bay Area or in Florida, which ballpark(s) can accommodate their schedules and seating capacity needs? Some have suggested the rays move temporarily to stadiums such as Steinbrenner Field, Al Lang Stadium, BayCare Ballpark, Walt Disney World Wide of Sports Stadium, Charlotte Sports Park, Ed Smith Stadium, JetBlue Park, Raymond James Stadium, or even sharing LoanDepot Park with the Marlins.
6) Is it better or more cost effective for the rays to temporarily relocate out of town? Initially there was some talk of them moving to North Carolina or Montreal. But these were dismissed as possibilities. Others have expressed interest including Nashville, Omaha, Oakland, and the like too.
7) What is the risk of another Hurricane damaging Florida or delaying the construction of the new stadium? They need to factor in this in making their choices. With Climate Change, hurricane strength and frequency are increasing.
Not to mention the money St. Pete is already dishing out to this day for clean-up and infrastructure. That, with insurance woes, I just don't see the value of repairing Tropicana. I almost feel like they would be better off cutting the cord and letting the team play in Orlando for a few years.
A as someone who lives in Orlando I’d go watch a game at Disney
Rob Manfred's solution to every problem seems to be "Play in a minor league stadium for a couple of years."
Worst commissioner in pro sports history. The MLB is in a much more precarious financial state than the public realizes. Two teams without stadiums, plus 4 teams that are for sale or need new stadiums within the next decade. And that's on top of the loss of revenue coming from the collapse of Regional Sports Networks. Game popularity is declining and the league is dying slowly over the past decades. Only thing that saves the sport is a salary cap system like the NHL.
Okay wise guy, you got a better solution to an actual crisis?
Even I cannot blame Rob Manfred for this.
The Rays and the A's situations are completely different.
And move a hundred miles away from your natural market when you do...
@@sblack53 Tampa is the result of a recent natural disaster and finding a home for them to play in next season is still unfolding, but the Oakland A's playing in Sacramento is Manfred's own personal disaster. As commissioner he should have shut Fisher's toddler tantrum down and negotiated a deal between the city of Oakland and the A's to play in Oakland until Vegas was complete and ready to move in. All other options should have been off the table out of respect to the players, the media, the fans, and the other teams in the league (who now have to play in a little league stadium with no amenities too). That was what the situation called for: a strong Commissioner who could negotiate a deal. Instead, he folded like a cheap suit. He enabled the John Fisher shit show that is about to unfurl before our eyes next season and put one more dent in MLB's reputation.
Wow! Can you imagine being a family whose home was leveled and your living out of a hotel or wherever, and you see local, state and federal funds going towards a “new roof” for a baseball team? OMG! I’d be unglued! Where are the priorities? And unless the owner of the them is putting in a significant amount to help defray the costs, I’d would give this “bandage” for the Trop, a thumbs down!
This is more like a family living in city government owned housing having their home leveled by a disaster, which a city would certainly do everything in their power to fix. Remember that the City of St. Petersburg built and owns the Trop, and collects rent from the Rays and other occasional tenants.
@@sblack53 I get it, and hopefully they do everything they can to help all that where affected by the hurricane. Even though the city government owns the stadium, I still think priorities should come into play. Housing for all, along with all the essentials should come before a revamped stadium. And I’m sure this won’t be the last of the bad weather for Florida.
@@sblack53Ahh, you mean like Communism?
You have done such a great job of covering this. I am concerned for Tampa that they won't build this new ball park now. If there is so much to be done on the city and construction delays continue, it could wind up not happening. If they move to Orlando for a few years which seems to me the logical place because Thunderstorms don’t come regularly (and it's not a horrible drive from Tampa) I th8nk you could see, with really good attendance, talk of them moving there pemminently. Whether it would happen is another issue.
There's no way they don't play some games in Tampa, Clearwater, or Dunedin. You'd be in a situation that some local fans wouldn't be able to go to games.
Local fans already don't go to their games. They are done in St Pete.
could you do a video on the minor league parks in the Tampa bay area that the rays can consider..one being Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. they are also considering using their spring training field in Port Charlotte. Orlando would not be a good option. Chances are, like the A's, the Rays will abandon the Trop and play in a minor league park until the new stadium is ready.
It's ironic that the 2 teams that need to be settled before MLB expands are going through the same issues!
You got Jacksonville and Gwinnett that have Triple A stadiums within driving distance to St Pete where the Rays can play.
St Pete government is not allowing the team to move out of the county or they'll pull funding on a new stadium
@@Skroskznikif they can’t leave the county then the Dunedin Blue Jays or Clearwater Threshers better get comfy real quick.
Both are hours away by car, not exactly close. Those locations don’t make much sense.
Gwinnett is a northern Atlanta suburb. Not exactly a short drive.
My thought process here:
1. With a new stadium being planned/built for 2028, why waste money fixing up Tropicana Field?
2. I say have them play at a minor league stadium. I mean, it's not like the Rays draw high crowds anyway? (yes I know that's a low hanging fruit way to bash the team)
They shouldn't waste any more money on the damaged stadium. It was a dump to start with. Play in a temporary stadium until the new stadium is ready.
I actually liked the Trop. The only things wrong with it were ballpark concession prices (but that’s an issue in many stadia) and artificial turf (which they needed because the fixed roof didn’t allow enough light inside to support grass). I liked that one could walk 360° around the stadium just above the lower bowl, and even a modest crowd sounded so loud, I had to turn off my hearing aids. People complain about the access to the stadium, but there are many stadia where driving to/from is a pain. Should the new ballpark be closer to Tampa? Sure, but Tampa didn’t want the Tays before or last year, so the new stadium had to be in St. Pete. Now, whether the team is better off moving to Nashville, Charlotte, or Montreal is another story…
Wow, that insurance reduction was just dumb.
I don't know the full extent of everything going on here but weather-wise I think the months of spring and early summer are favorable enough to play roof-less, at least until hurricane season arrives next July or August. That should buy enough time to decide what to do with the Rays.
Playing in the Orlando area is at best a short-term solution - outdoors in Florida in summer is a no-go given the almost daily late-afternoon/early evening thunderstorms coupled with the heat and humidity. Also traffic on I-4 between Orlando and Tampa is horrendous (think LA type traffic!) - what fan base you had in Tampa/St.Pete isn't driving to Orlando. If you had to play outdoors in a spring training facility, I think you'd want to find one closer to Tampa/St. Pete.
Dude you're missing the point. There is no solution this problem. It's lose lose.
If the city is gonna spend 6.5 million in clean up etc... costs then it sounds like there gonna keep the stadium, use the 6.5 for demolition costs make deal with insurance company and move on to build the new one, play ball at the Yankees facility in town,
Trop is cursed. They built a baseball-only stadium, without a team, and got passed over or Miami to play baseball in a football only stadium. They reached the end of life for the roof, and didn't replace or refurbish it, then cut insurance coverage on a fully amortized roof, AFTER seeing other fabric roofs fail. Did they look at a "model" of how expensive being cheap was??
I wonder if Orlando might make a play to build a new stadium for the Rays and just have them become the Orlando Rays. The city did fairly recently (11 years ago) vote to use public funds for Orlando City's stadium, what's to stop them from offering tourism tax dollars for a new MLB stadium?
might take more then 3 years for them to move to that new ballpark, that park could also be screwed up by some hurricane during construction. You're still going to need that Tropicana Field in the end, no reason to make planned expectations with zero guarantees even existing.
The new stadium plan involves a more robust roof similar to LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Before everyone goes off moaning and groaning about the premiums/coverage, get yourself an insurance expert. Assets decline in value over time so why insure them as if they were brand new. A 2024 Ford 150 is worth a lot more than the same pick-up that's 10 years old. You will only recover replacement costs or cost of repairs whichever is less from the carrier. Would you still insure an old clunker for collision? The stadium/roof outlived its useful life. What's it really worth?
It's interesting how commercial claims get approved over the residential claims... that have been waiting for years...
Short term gain is an understatement.
What about the damage elsewhere from Milton?
Just move the team now. Tampa Bay can reset itself and build a new ballpark over the next 10 years and attract a new team then. That's how they got the Rays..
Pinellas County said they will not approve the 350 million bonds if they leave Pinellas County for 3 years.
Wow. That doesnt leave many great options (Dunedin, Clearwater, or reconvert Al Lang for baseball i'd guess, and all of these are less than 9k seats). If St. Pete takes a hard line stance on that we might just lose the team. I sure hope not.
Temporarily moving the Rays to Orlando would be a very interesting real time case study on which Central Florida city is a more viable baseball market. There’s no way the MLB gives Florida a third team so the Rays moving to Orlando is their only chance of getting a franchise.
I would like to see multiple parks used during the season. Split it up between Blue jays, Yankees, Phillies, Al Lang, & Disney complex. Giving time for each park to get ready, gives fans access and promotes the parks. I love the Trop but i don't believe it will be playable again.
Unlikely to have multiple homes. Makes everything so much more complicated from mlb logistics.
Tampa to Disney is 70 minutes with no traffic,maybe 30 min more to St.Pete,it's not that far!
Here come the tax payers to clean up some rich people’s mess , again.
cut your losses and build new now, the stadium was a lost cause before Milton. now its just a dead building.
As a long time Floridian who knows the lay of the land pretty good I think moving the team to Orlando would be a good thing. They will draw more fans in Orlando then St Pete. St Pete is just a Terrible location. Any location off of I 4 between Tampa and Orlando would be better.. NOBODY wants to drive over jammed packed bridges to go to St Pete.
If they build a new park in St Pete it will be a huge failure too.
Honestly, I can see why the city would not want to spend money on this. They sink massive amounts of public money into stadiums to begin with and now the whole city is in need of that money. Let the Rays deal with it and spend tax money where it's really needed. Having a baseball team isn't more important than having a city.
Stop saying that stadiums location as Tampa! Saint Petersburg is NOT Tampa.
Separately, what genius named Saint Petersburg Florida for Saint Petersburg Russia, and why? Enquiring minds want to know.
Dooley's Collerary to Murphy's Law: If you say something cannot possibly happen. IT WILL.
Do what is needed for it to be playable as an outdoor field
I LOVED watching the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions playing in the "elements" yesterday. As reported it was unbelievably the Lions first game outdoors this year. I'm not a fan of domed stadiums. But if the local and state taxpayers are willing to pony up for what is becoming more and more expensive to build and maintain so be it. Obviously building a stadium with a fabric roof in a hurricane zone was a disaster waiting to happen. How ironic that the council thought their good fortune on not having a disaster would last!
I don't believe baseball is supposed to be played in the rain.
Baseball is not meant to be played in inclement weather. How would you like to be a batter watching a 100 MPH pitch sail at your head because the pitcher lost his grip due to rain?
Why is the city council approving anything to pay for? Isn’t that what the owners insurance is for?
What in the heck is the point of this? They aren’t going to play there ever again. Might as well accelerate plans to build new stadium and tear the Trop down.
It's unbelievable St. Pete would reduce their insurance premium but yep, they sure did. I guess that field in Orlando will work for up to 3-4 seasons I think a lot of FL. retirees love watching Rays on T.V. and they'll take get great deals on bus trips back and forth to the Orlando stadium.
I would think it would cost way over 100 million to repair The Trop I doubt they will bother. If they build a new stadium in Tampa or St. Pete just remember people will still not fill the seats there's way too many people living there and the traffic is horrible I mean absolutely brutal but I'll admit Miami is worse lol.
This story is going have many more twists and turns it'll be fascinating to watch from the front row seats.
This is so embarrassing to be not only a Rays fan, but that Rays fans have to deal with the ownership and the city government because they don't care that much about the team.
Buffalo Rays 2025! Make it happen. The Triple A stadium already has upgrades from the Blue Jays playing there during the pandemic and geographically it is close to the other teams in the division. Come on MLB, bring the majors back to Buffalo for a little while!
$6.5 million is a waste of money for repairs, just put it to a new stadium hopefully somewhere out of Florida. MLB won't have a plan for the rays until spring training starts in 2025 or even later. The rays should build that bridge to Nashville.
The stadium at Disney only holds 7+K seats. The soccer stadium down the road or their spring training facility at Port Charlotte holds close to the same number. Unless Disney is will to pay the Rays $$$$, I doubt they would move to Orlando.
Well it isn't like there isn't precedence for an MLB team using a Minor League Park.. The Blue Jays played in Buffalo's Sahlen Field for 2020 when they couldn't get back into Canada. The A's are about to play at Sutter Health Park for 3 years or better, so it wouldn't be unheard of for the Rays to temporarily reside in a Minor League Park for up to 3 years if necessary.
Do you know it would be cheaper to retrofit Raymond James Stadium to baseball then to renovate Tropicana field
Would it help the city to build a new stadium if they can now just use the current site? If the team is going to play in a temp stadium for 3 years, then they could just start demolition of the Trop and build there rather than going to a new location. I know there’s debate about keeping the team in St Pete but if it’s going to stay there anyway, I wonder if this could potentially make things easier if they can build a new stadium at the same location. Repairing the roof would just be burning money.
I was thinking the exact same thing. This would give them more flexibility with the land use on the new ballpark. They could still build the village concept, but just have more land options at play now.
The new stadium is supposed to be built next to the Trop and then demolish and redevelop the site.
The Buffalo Bison are going to the Major Leagues!
Looks fine to me. Home field advantage playing around the debris?
"Drainage System" is code for a bunch of guys with buckets.
They could move to NYC, the Yankees need a team with hustle and solid fundamentals and a lower payroll.
Actually a team in Northern New Jersey makes a ton of more sense than in NYC proper in the 5 boroughs. Too bad the Yanks, Mets and Phillies have territory rights and any idea of a New Jersey MLB club expansion or a relocation is Dead on arrival.
No chance even as big as NYC is they can't handle 3 teams anymore like when the Dodgers Giants and Yankees were all there until 1957
@@michaelleroy9281 There are 3 NHL teams in the area, but if they add a new one to New York, it would probably be closer to Buffalo, if not Buffalo.
not to mention these council members are facing re-election. Its possible that the new makeup of the city council could re-examine the new ballpark deal and decide to shut it down. then what?
What bozos. The stadium is old, and is located in a hurricane-prone area.
Worst case, they pay the higher premium for 3 years until their new digs are ready. Not a big deal. Especially compared to what happened.
How short-sighted is St. Petersburg, anyway?
Also, I'd love an update on the retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was unable to be opened a couple of weekends ago on a beautiful day due to "mechanical issues", and was also unable to be opened during one of their preseason games this year.
Is this anything like Chase Field in PHX? Does Jim Irsay have any track record of maintenance?
Just leave the darn thing off. Put in a drainage system and call it a day. Deal with the rain for a couple years or share Loan Depo Park on occasion. Waist of money to do anything significant with that place. At least the Giants are playing there. 😅
If the city cut back the insurance then the city is responsible for the repairs.
Where does the “city” get the funds to foot the bill if the insurance does not pay? Taxes that the locals will be paying in perpetuity. I’m so tired of sports leagues extorting public funding.
Honestly they should sell the franchise and let the new owners relocate wherever they want.
If this is the end of that franchise nevermind that stadium, literally, who cares? I worked in Tampa for a year and never met a Rays fan. Not kidding.
The government shouldn’t be in the business of building and owning stadiums.
Despite St Pete being closer to Tampa it would actually be as fast if not faster to go from Tampa to Orlando than from Tampa to St Pete
Wow 😮, why? Is it a bridge gridlock ?
Local resident here, no it is not faster to get to Orlando than it is to get to St Pete. Lakeland maybe, but Orlando??? Good luck.
Just a few water pumps, brodie... not difficult to do
If you are going to report on this, you should have asked the authorities the questions you asked here. Giving a report is one thing, A better reporter would have information instead of all questions.
if its fiesable i would just do some minor repairs to make it suitable to be an outdoor field for its remaining years... re roofing isn't worth it for 3 years of remaining life.
Maybe play at the Troop without a roof will boost the attendances? Maybe it's a good thing for the new ballpark project.
Yeah, I hear Florida has a dry climate.
They can’t do that. Brodie already looked into it. The stadium isn’t built to handle the elements should they remove the roof. There would be problems with the way the drainage system works among other issues without the roof.
Orlando is the least likely. The most likely relocation is the Yankees spring training field in Tampa, which would require juggling Yankees minor league and Rays major league schedules. However, it sounds like MLB is agreeable.
This is something I'd expect to hear from Oakland.
When do we get the stadium news collab with Depressed Ginger?
I am guessing that because the local government is now involved, there won't be anymore games ever played there because they will never agree on what to do or fund it all to be fixed. With mold remediation on a place that big alone could be more than the value of the building now. Could be cheaper to just build a new building for sure, although they will fight about it for months if not years. 🤦♂🤷♂
Who woulda thunk a hurricane might hit that part of the country? Florida Man decision?
Um. That’s the whole point of insurance? 😢
The rays being cheap lost them their stadium... couldn't rays any harder man