Tampa Bay Rays set to reveal details of incredible new $1.2BILLION, 30,000-seater indoor dome ballpark in St Petersburg – as first images are released TipTechBlog

The Rays are reportedly set to announce a stunning new stadium, with renderings of the proposed new site showing the $1.2billion project in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The team has played at Tropicana Field since 1998, with the stadium routinely attracting some of the lowest attendances in MLB.

Now, according to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays are expected to announce a brand new home on Tuesday.

According to the report, the stadium would be built close to Tropicana Field, and is expected to seat around 30,000 people.

The site, which would be part of a redevelopment of the 86-acre Gas Plant District, is slated to open for the 2028 season.

Renderings of the new stadium project show a massive redevelopment of the Gas Plant District

The project will cost $1.2billion, with the team set to contribute ‘half or more’ of the money

The field would have a fixed dome roof and an artificial turf playing surface, like Tropicana Field does.

According to the Times, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said earlier this month that the team expected to ‘pay for half or more’ of the project.

St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are also expected to contribute to the stadium.

The Rays have been one of the league’s better teams in recent years, but low attendance figures have led the the franchise to explore different options for home games.

The Rays, at 92-59, are headed to the postseason after clinching a playoff spot on Sunday

There was reportedly a plan for the team to split games between Montreal and Tampa, though that was vetoed by MLB.

The Rays have the fourth-lowest average attendance (17,777) in the league this season, per ESPN. 

Nonetheless, they’ll hope to fill seats in the playoffs after clinching a postseason spot on Sunday.