Tampa Bay Rays play at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Aug. 16 2024. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference in Palmetto Friday that he hopes the problems with finding a new stadium to help the Tampa Bay Rays remain in the region get resolved.
The governor said that a Major League Baseball team could succeed in the region, which has some of the fastest growing cities in the country, but that it needs the right direction and infrastructure, which would include a stadium with a roof because of the frequent rain in the state.
DeSantis’ comments came a day after Stuart Sternberg, the team’s principal owner, announced the team wouldn’t move forward with a $1.3 billion stadium development project in St. Petersburg.
“I don’t really get involved in this or that because there’s other people that can handle that, but just as a fan and as a Floridian, I know baseball can do well in the Tampa Bay area,” said DeSantis, who was the captain of the Yale baseball team when he attended.
The governor talked at length about the importance of having major sports teams in the state during the press conference, during which he announced an infrastructure grant for Port Manatee.
Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off of Tropicana Field in October, the repair of which increased tensions between the Rays and city government.
Still, DeSantis said an MLB team leaving Florida would be a bad look for the league.
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