What would the price tag be for a new Rays stadium in Tampa?

A new Tampa Bay Rays stadium in Ybor City could cost over $798.9 million – if it were to get built.

The Tampa Sports Authority retained Chicago-based consultant AECOM to evaluate the potential fiscal impacts of a new stadium in Ybor and the mixed-use developments that would surround it. The authority also worked with design-build firm Skanska to evaluate the viability of a new stadium.

The report from AECOM and Skanska, provided to the St. Pete Catalyst, concludes a new open-air stadium would cost $798.9 million, but that figure does not include all the costs associated with the county, city and additional parties. It does include infrastructure and the land acquisition allowance, according to Skanska’s report. 

The report indicates a desire from the Rays to get the ball rolling on the plans to make Tampa its new home. 

“While the Rays have expressed a desire to complete the venue during the summer of 2025 for MLB games to commence in the spring of 2026, we understand that the Rays’ current lease commitment requires the team remain in St. Petersburg (Tropicana Field) until the spring of 2028. The TSA has indicated it will not negotiate stadium agreements that commence prior to the expiration of its existing lease or evidence of relief thereof,” the report from Skanska read. 

The documents do not identify the exact address of where the new stadium would be built, but it does state it would be in Ybor City. Approximately nine acres are anticipated to be purchased from property owners for the stadium, according to Skanska’s report. 

Skanska estimated the construction period would be approximately 42 to 48 months.

The new potential stadium would have a capacity of 23,096 fixed seats, 1,500 berm seats and 2,500 SRO (standing room only) – bringing the total to 27,096 seats.

The report shows a breakdown of some of the space – 40,000 square feet of offices, 4,500 square feet for foodservice operations and a 3,000-square-foot retail store among other stores.

The plans would also include a $21 million, 800-space parking garage, which the Rays have indicated would be built across from the stadium. 

The current report does not include costs for a rooftop structure; however, if it is included, it could run up the price tag by an additional $90 million to $180 million depending upon the design.  

“The TSA and their consultants have done excellent due diligence. Our goal was and remains to be good stewards of public tax dollars while working to keep the Rays in Tampa Bay. We still have a lot of work to do,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement.

An economic impact homerun

If the Rays were to relocate to Tampa, the move would create an astronomical economic impact. 

AECOM’s study included the review of an economic analysis by consulting firm Brailsford and Dunlavey, which the Rays hired. 

This analysis from Brailsford and Dunlavey was solely based on the economic impact related to the proposed split-season scenario for the new stadium.

“It is important to note that the Rays have only focused on this split-season scenario, with no consideration for a full-season scenario at this time,” the report read.

However, the Rays recently learned that the Major League Baseball’s Executive Council decided to end the team’s ongoing efforts of splitting its season between St. Pete and Montreal. 

According to Brailsford and Dunlavey’s report, which based its projections on the team’s now-rejected split-season scenario, the new stadium in Tampa would rake in $293 million of economic impact. Roughly $123 million would be directly related to the Rays’ annual operations and $169 million would be generated from visitor spending outside of the venue, according to the report.

Brailsford and Dunlavey’s economic calculations also include the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team hosting its games at the Ybor City stadium. 

The report stated 5.8 million square feet of development would get built around the stadium, creating a baseball district. Ybor landowner Daryl Shaw’s GasWorx development would create 4.1 million square feet of hi-rise, mixed-use building. The remaining 1.7 million square feet would be the remaining ballpark district. 

While Brailsford and Dunlavey’s report is based on the split-season plan and having the Rowdies, AECOM’s economic projection for a full-season scenario shows it could range from $6.2 million to $7.61 million by 2032. The impact of ancillary real estate development is estimated at $20.2 million.

Although the Rays declined to share revenue information with the consultant, AECOM performed a regression analysis to determine the average ticket prices and reported that the process would likely be $25 per general ticket per game, and $40 per game via premium ticketing.

The turf war

While Castor and other city officials and local business executives have encouraged the Rays to ditch St. Pete and build a stadium in Hillsborough County, the City of St. Petersburg isn’t loosening its grip on the will to keep the Rays on its turf. 

Last week, newly-elected St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch made statements on how the city is fighting to keep its only major professional sports franchise. 

“I met yesterday with the Deputy Mayor and Rays’ leadership and county leadership, I’ve also met with the city council. I’m really excited to tell you St. Pete is back in the game to keep our Rays,” Welch said. “We look forward to many more conversations.”

Welch added that he is still enamored with the concept of a waterfront ballpark. During the State of the Bay summit last week, Welch said a waterfront stadium would be “iconic and unmatched” and that “we need to take a shot at it.”

The mayor made an earlier announcement that he has “instructed staff to further study economic and community impacts at Albert Whitted Airport to better identify the best use for the site.”

A city spokesperson said the timeline and scope of the study of the 100-acre airport site have not yet been determined.