MLB Has Unique Opportunity With Rays Stadium Situation

Hurricane Milton has devastated Florida and the Tampa Bay area. Although the total number isn’t known yet, it’s estimated that the storm caused billions of dollars worth of damage to the region. One place that was severely affected was Tropicana Field, the home field of the Tampa Bay Rays. The heavy winds from the storm destroyed the fabric covering the roof. This left the field exposed to the elements of the storm causing damage to the playing surface.

Although the damage wasn’t as bad as in other areas, the stadium won’t be ready to play in 2025. All indications show that the stadium should be ready by 2026. That is if a plan is worked out to cover the 55 million needed for the repairs. In the meantime, the Rays are going to need a place to play. Although, it’s been rumored they’ll play at one of the Spring Training sights. However, the MLB could use this in order to test future cities.

MLB Should Test Potential Expansion Sights

For years, it’s been rumored that MLB and Rob Manfred have been eyeing expansion. Ever since they expanded the playoffs in 2020, they said the next step was adding two more teams to the league. The only thing preventing them was the stadium situations with the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays. They didn’t want to add two new teams until the two teams with attendance problems were set.

However with, A’s set to move to Las Vegas, sometime in the late 2020s, and the Rays set to get a new stadium in 2028 those situations are pretty much resolved. With that, the MLB can shift its attention to what cities are a good fit for an expansion team. However, one of the things MLB should be concerned about with a new expansion team is a repeat of the Oakland and Tampa situations. They don’t want to solve one issue, just to have the same one pop up in a brand-new location. That’s not a good look.

It would be nice if the MLB could do a test run with these cities. See if the city can sustain an MLB team. That is where the Rays come in. Since they need to place to play in 2025, why not put them in one of the cities they’re targeting for expansion? That way MLB can get an idea of what the attendance numbers would be if they were to put an expansion franchise there.

Potential Cities For the Rays and MLB

Now sure, this isn’t a simple plan. It’s not like you can just put a team anywhere. You need to make sure that the city has the infrastructure to support an MLB team. But let’s put that aside for a second. What cities could be potential landing spots, based on MLB’s interest in expanding there?

Montreal

The most popular thing the MLB and its fans have wanted is a return to Montreal. Ever since the Expo left for Washington DC in 2005, everyone has been clamoring for them to return. Thus the city is constantly brought up whenever a relocation or expansion is brought up.

Several groups of investors have been trying to bring a team back to Montreal for years now. Not only that but all of these groups have met MLB standards for purchasing a team. If the Rays were to move to Montreal for the season, the MLB and these groups could get a clear idea of what their revenue would look like. Thus it’ll give them an idea of what they have to spend to put a team there and make it a success.

Nashville

Nashville has quickly become a hotbed for baseball popularity. With the dominance of the Vanderbilt baseball program, many people have been hoping a major league team would someday enter Music City. So much so that an organized community called, Music City Baseball LLC. They made an aggressive campaign using their webpage to get MLB to come to Tennessee. If the Rays move there, the MLB can see what the interest of the region is. Is this the feeling of the city of Nashville, or just by this group and the people who follow Vanderbilt baseball.

Charlotte

The final realistic destination for the Rays is Charlotte. Similar to Nashville, Charlotte has a group of investors trying to bring the majors to North Carolina. The biggest issue this group is facing is the mayor and city council have yet to provide a plan for a stadium. If the Rays were to play the season in 2025 and put up good attendance numbers, it could change things. It might make politicians more receptive to the idea of building a stadium because they know that it’s something the people want.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image to Bryan R. Smith. You can find more MLB content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.