Manfred says Tampa area politicians will be given time to sort out Rays’ ballpark situation

NEW YORK (AP) — Tampa area politicians will be given time to sort out the Rays’ ballpark situation following Hurricane Milton, and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said there has been no thought to allowing the team to explore a relocation.

“Given the devastation in that area, it’s kind of only fair to give the local governments in the Tampa Bay region an opportunity to sort of figure out where they are, what they have available in terms of resources, what’s doable,” Manfred said Wednesday at a news conference after a Major League Baseball owners meeting.

Tampa Bay announced a stadium plan in September 2023 but following Hurricane Milton, which damaged Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Oct. 9, the Pinellas County Commission has not approved financing bonds for the new ballpark. The Rays said this week the new ballpark wouldn’t be able to open until 2029, if at all.

“We’re committed to the fans in Tampa Bay,” Manfred said. “Given all that’s happened in that market, we’re focused on our franchise in Tampa Bay right now.”

The team will play home games this year across the bay at the New York Yankees’ spring training ballpark, Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

“It’s one thing to make an interim arrangement for 2025, which we’ve done,” Manfred said. “When you get into another year, there’s obviously going to be another interim arrangement unless they get the Trop fixed, and I think that second year of an interim arrangement, you need a plan as to how you’re going to get into a permanent facility.”

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