Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is cheering the Tampa Bay Rays’ return to Tropicana Field this week — their first game back in St. Petersburg since Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof — calling the moment symbolic of the region’s broader recovery from the storms.
The homecoming follows a season spent at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and has been met with strong fan enthusiasm, with tickets to Monday’s opener selling out well before first pitch.
Castor said the return to a fully repaired Tropicana Field is bittersweet — as the Rays move back across the bay to St. Petersburg, for now, as negotiations continue over a potential long-term move to a new ballpark in Tampa.
“We had the Rays for a whole season, and I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t wonderful,” Castor wrote in the newsletter.
“Steinbrenner Field, the sunshine, even those pesky rain delays. We took it all in, and we cheered them on. I root for this team, and I always have. The question of where the Rays plant their long-term flag is one I care about deeply, as a fan and as Mayor of a city that has a real stake in that answer.”
Hillsborough County is expected to consider proposals by the Tampa Bay Rays as early as this month that could top $1 billion in public funding. Commissioners are expected to debate the use of Community Investment Tax dollars as a funding source on the deal, a proposal that has already drawn skepticism.
The City of Tampa is expected to consider public funding around the same timeframe as the county. Castor made clear this week that the city remains interested in a new ballpark so long as taxpayers do not strike out on the deal.
The funding would not be used solely for a ballpark. The Rays’ proposal calls for a mixed-use district surrounding Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus, similar to the Atlanta Braves’ Battery District. State officials have already agreed to convey some state land to the college for use as part of efforts to anchor the campus into the district, along with the Rays.
“We absolutely want to make a deal to ensure the Tampa Bay Rays remain in Tampa Bay, but any agreement has to make sense for our taxpayers and our community,” Castor said. “Tonight, though, there is baseball under a fixed roof, and that is enough reason to cheer. Go Rays.”
