Photo: Getty Images
Per WDAE's Tom Krasniqi, a source confirms that the Tampa Bay Rays are working with Hillsborough County officials exploring two sites in Ybor City along with the Tampa Fairgrounds as a possible site for a new baseball stadium.
Per the report, this effort is just in the exploratory stages of the process to find a site in the Tampa Bay region to house a new baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. This report comes just a day following a major announcement from Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg saying that two previous proposals for the 86-acre downtown location where Tropicana Field currently sits are are being scrapped. Announcing a new round of plans to be solicited beginning in mid-August.
Welch has made a priority of including such things as affordable housing and greater job opportunities along with Rays baseball, which Welch said the new plan should envision including a stadium at the site.
This report on the fairgrounds location has not been confirmed by the Tampa Bay Rays nor county officials.
The Tampa Bay Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural season in 1998, with the current lease on the use of the building ending after the 2027 season.
Photo Courtesy Of Getty Images