What is going on, Ball Boys and Girls? I hope you all are doing super well. I am sure you have heard about the two enormous developments for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics in their quests for new stadiums. If not, well I am here to help you learn.
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Let's start West with the A's:
The Oakland A's have started the process by submitting a plan for a beautiful waterfront stadium in Oakland and a massive addition to Oakland in terms of housing and business.
I love the plans for the new stadium in Oakland. There is funding from former players. However, the city isn't wanting to support it. The A's are back as a revenue-sharing team that just sold their best assets while trying to get a new stadium. Does this make sense?
What's the alternative plan for the A's with no new stadium and the Coliseum lease being up after the 2024 season?
They need to put a competitive program together over the next couple of years to show they are moving in the right direction to earn one.
Next, they need to decide if a make-over to the Coliseum as is might be the better move now that the Raiders are in Las Vegas. Could an expansion to the Oracle Arena also be in the cards for expansion of the Coliseum?
The next option is for the A's to move to Las Vegas and join the Raiders, as Vegas has been making a play for the A's since about 2014. I wouldn't love the move as I love the A's and Oakland baseball, and Oakland needs the A's.
I have many fond memories of the A's in Oakland at the O.Co Coliseum, and it's desperately time for an upgrade for the A's to be able to attract players to want to play for the team.
I hope the A's stay in Oakland; however, I think that the move is the likely route, and there will be no Oakland A's come the 2025 season.
Let's move on to the Tampa Bay Rays, who play in the Trop:
Ray's lease agreement is up in 2027, and the Rays have explored an idea to split time between Tampa and Montreal.
Over the last year, it had seemed to grow more and likely that the future of the Tampa Bay Rays was a "sister city" concept splitting the season between the Tampa Bay Area and Montreal. However, the MLB announced the shut down of that plan down, telling the Rays they must commit to a permanent home.
Ray and Tampa Bay have six years to figure out a new plan and get an idea of what they want to do.
According to St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch," the city has expressed its desire to keep the Rays in St. Pete. Current plans for the Tropicana site don't include a stadium, but developers have touted an alternate version that would have space for a covered baseball stadium."
"On the other side of the bay, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who had been a proponent of the sister-city plan, had been in talks with the Rays about building a new stadium in Ybor City. However, those discussions centered around an outdoor stadium that would only be needed half the season and wouldn't require a roof since the Rays would be in Canada during Florida's rainy season. A full-time stadium would be larger and significantly more expensive for all involved parties."(Carskadon, 2022)
I honestly think the Rays are the perfect candidate to re-locate either to Tampa Bay or stay in St. Pete or even be up for a bid to move to Nashville, Vegas(If they don't get the A's), or another city that wants to give the Ray's a fresh start in 2028.
I feel a bidding war coming to be Ray's permanent home.
Sources:
Carskadon, B. (2022, January 20). MLB shuts down the sister city plan, telling Tampa Bay Rays to find a permanent home. I Love the Burg. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://ilovetheburg.com/rays-sister-city-shutdown/