Rays take massive step towards new ballpark with St. Petersburg City Council vote

A big vote was cast by the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday in deciding what direction the process on building Tampa Bay's new ballpark would go in. When it was all said and done, the council voted 5-3 in favor of the construction process moving forward. This was a massive step, as the vote now moves up the line to Pinellas County officials, who will discuss the funding process outside of the Rays' organization.

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg was pumped about the deal, as he talked to the press afterward.

""Thursday’s St. Petersburg City Council approvals of the Historic Gas Plant District Development and a new ballpark for the Rays is a significant milestone for our city, Pinellas County and the entire Tampa Bay region — and for the Rays and our fans.""

Stuart Sternberg, Tampa Bay Rays owner

The new stadium will be in the Historic Gas Plant district of St. Pete and will cost about $1.3 million. The project encompassing the ballpark and the area around it in St. Pete is estimated to cost a total $6.5 billion and will feature lots of different infrastructure like apartments, museums, etc.

Although this was a huge step forward to this ballpark being built, there is one more vote that needs to be made before everything can be set into motion. On July 30, another vote with Pinellas County officials will take place regarding agreements on funding from the public and tourism taxes to get construction underway in January of 2025.

This takes a huge monkey off of the back of the Tampa Bay Rays' organization, as they have spent a couple of decades searching for a new home. If all pans out on July 30, this keeps the rich history of the franchise in Tampa Bay for many more years to come and keeps winning baseball on Florida's gulf coast.