Two Stadiums for Tampa Bay Rays? A Crazy Idea Worth Considering

My boss took me to a Tampa Bay Rays game earlier this month. Fans filled most of the seats at Steinbrenner Field, despite it being a midweek game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

An Ideal Evening at the Ballpark

This was one of those ideal April evenings that confirm why baseball is best watched outdoors. Warm, but pleasant. A slight breeze. Sheet lightning flashed in the clouds far away to the east. The game even sounded better — cleaner, less echoey.

A Link to the Past

More than most sports, the national pastime is a link to the past. Sitting outside makes it easier to get lost in the nostalgia. After all, Babe Ruth hit all of his Major League home runs outdoors. Jackie Robinson never stole a base in an air-conditioned dome. The fictional Ray Kinsella didn’t build a retractable roof over his Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa.

The Crazy Idea

Enter the crazy idea: Two stadiums. Many will recall the proposal to split home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal. Support for the idea started slowly, gained traction, and marinated for over a year, until Major League Baseball finally said no. Montreal is in a different country, 1,300 miles from Tampa Bay. It was complicated.

The Proposal

What if the two cities were much closer together? Could the Rays split home games between Tampa and St. Petersburg? The boss who took me to the game likes the idea and laid out the broad strokes as we watched the Rays beat the Pirates. Since then, two other people have asked me about the possibility, so I ran the concept by a dozen other baseball fans. The reactions were mixed, from “I like the creative thinking” to “Dead on arrival.” I’m leaning toward the latter.

Exploring the Possibilities

The idea includes the Rays finding a way to build an outdoor stadium in Tampa with 15,000 to 20,000 seats. The team would play spring training games and the first part of the regular season there.

Cost Considerations

On the upside, the Tampa Bay area retains its Major League Baseball team. Fans get both the outdoor experience and the relief of an air-conditioned dome. The Rays could charge premium prices in the smaller Tampa stadium and tap into a fan base that often complains about driving across a bridge to St. Petersburg.

Conclusion

Outdoor baseball is alluring. So too are creative ideas for keeping the Rays in Tampa Bay. But given so many what-ifs, I won’t hold my breath on this one.

FAQs

Can the Rays make the numbers work?

Admittedly, this is back-of-the-napkin stuff, with a dizzying number of unknowns.

Will the players like it?

It remains to be seen how the players would react to such a drastic change in home game locations.

Can both sides of the bay cooperate long enough to pull it off?

Collaboration between Tampa and St. Petersburg would be crucial in making this two-stadium concept a reality.