10 potential sites released for possible new Rays stadium

Officials on Tuesday released 10 potential sites for a new major league baseball stadium.

County Administrator Mark Woodard briefed Pinellas County commissioners as ten sites are being proposed for the new home of the Tampa Bay Rays. While county officials hope to keep the team on the Pinellas side of the bay, the new “must have” the local authenticity, potential for future development, accessibility and development readiness.

Tampa Bay Rays logoSome of the proposed sites are the southwest corner of 118th Avenue North and 49th Street in Pinellas Park, a 135-acre location on Gandy Boulevard North, the former Sunshine Speedway site in Pinellas Park and a location at the corner of U.S. 19 N and Bellair Road.

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their expansion debut in 1998 and their current location on Tropicana Drive was also listed among the 10 choices.

The 85-acre Tropicana Field site has “high development potential, excellent accessibility, excess size and geometry, authentic downtown” and it’s owned by Pinellas County and development ready. That gives the site six check marks on its “site highlights,” more than any other site to make the county’s list.

With that said, the big negatives are access to businesses, employees and residents within a 30-minute drive of Tropicana Field has consistently been attributed to getting fans in the stands.

 

Officials broke down the ten proposed locations by businesses and employees in the area, median income and the drive time to each site.

The full county report can be reviewed by clicking here.

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