On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays released their first detailed rendering of a proposed new ballpark in St. Petersburg. Team president Matt Silverman said they plan to make “the most intimate ballpark in baseball.” In the fall, the Rays reached an agreement with the city of St. Petersburg and Pinella County to build a new $1.3 million billion ballpark on the Tropicana Field site as part of the long-term redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. If approved, the Rays plan to begin construction in January 2025 as it will be ready to open in 2028.
NEW: @RaysBaseball has released new renderings of the new planned stadium for St. Pete
$1.3B
— Jeff Butera (@BayNews9Jeff) May 30, 2024
Tampa Bay Rays Release Rendering of Proposed New Stadium
In the renderings, the ballpark would have an estimated 30,000 seats, with the capacity for games reaching between 33,000-34,000. Tropicana Field’s current capacity is much smaller at 25,025, considering the upper deck is closed. The lowest capacity for a big league ballpark is Cleveland’s Progressive Field at 34,830. The new stadium would have fewer suites than their current home ballpark. But will offer what the club calls “a variety of comfortable seating types, from premium clubs and suites to flexible viewing areas, decks and social gathering spaces.”
The Field Itself
Like The Trop, the field will be artificial turf. Aspects of the design aren’t set in stone, especially the height and shape of the outfield fences. The plan is to have the bullpens in both outfield corners. Both clubhouses and workout spaces will be underneath the stands for teams. Silverman did add that the Rays’ new ballpark will have both the smallest foul territory and the shortest distance from home plate to the backstop in baseball. That will bring fans in the upper deck closer to the field.
“The coolest part is how close the fans will be to the field and how close a connection they’ll feel to the game that’s being played on the field,” Silverman said to Adam Berry of MLB.com. “In the past, ballparks were designed before [protective] nets were required, so there was a distance that you needed from the field for safety. And when you have a larger capacity, it makes it much more difficult to fill the seats close to the field because the geometry doesn’t work.”
The field will be visible from all concourses, with a full 360-degree circulation around the ballpark. Silverman did note that there will be “water features,” including either the popular Rays Touch Tank or a “successor to the ray tank.”
New Life in the Area
The Rays want to bring new life to the area as the neighborhood ballpark is the anchor to the Historic Gas Plant District Development. They want to have the ballpark mixed in with the rest of the district. The project will include more than 5,000 residential units and 600 affordable/workforce housing units on the site. There will be another 650 units elsewhere in the city. The Rays want to make the new ballpark a “365-day venue”. Plus, keep parts of the stadium, the team store and restaurants/bars open year-round, not just during baseball season.
For full details on the development, visit RaysBaseball.com/HereToStay.
Main Photo: © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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