Royals Unveil Latest Downtown Stadium Plan

(image credit: Populous, Kansas City Royals, and MLB.com)

About a week after the Rays released a budget and renderings of their latest ballpark iteration, the Royals announced their latest plans to exit Kauffman Stadium before the end of their lease in 2030.  It's been a slow moving process ever since Jackson County's failed sales tax referendum in April 2024 ended hopes of a new park in the Crossroads District of Kansas City.  In the two years since, it's been mainly speculation and hearsay, with the Royals even reportedly purchasing some land on the former Sprint campus that was fueled by state-approved STAR Bonds in an attempt to lure the team across state lines to the Kansas side.  This power move worked in luring the NFL Chiefs, but the Royals had other plans and backed out.  If you'll allow me a baseball pun, their latest plan at Crown Center sort of came out of left field.  This project would be a joint partnership with Hallmark Cards - the KC-based company which is currently headquartered at the proposed site - who would be erecting a new building nearby and providing a good chunk of capital to the team as part of the deal (and I would hope naming rights and non-stop streaming Hallmark Christmas movies in the stadium as well).  This will be an interesting site to say the least, as a lot of it is on the National Register and will require a significant amount of demolition and infrastructure revisions, including the existing WWI Memorial and Museum.  The public contribution to this $3B project would be about one-third, as opposed to the 2024 Crossroads proposal that would have been over 50% public money.  As far as I can tell, the city and state money is already allocated in principle and would be set for formal approval pending all of the plan and lease agreements.  If all goes well, construction would begin on the ballpark and entertainment district next year with a targeted Opening Day 2030 opening.

The Royals situation is certainly unique compared to most of the other teams with ongoing stadium issues.  For instance, they are not in the same boat as the Brewers and D-Backs, who were both in desperate need of deferred maintenance - the Royals completed an extensive $250M renovation in 2009 and have had several other smaller ones since.  They're not in the same boat as the A's and Rays, whose stadium situations had become so untenable that they lived with the constant fear of becoming homeless in the last two decades - the 2009 renovation included a significant lease extension.  And they're also not in the same boat as the Angels and White Sox, who have floated threats to sell the team or leave at various points unless they get a new park - the Royals ownership group has made it clear they're not going anywhere.  A lot of people are comparing the Royals situation to what the Braves did, but I would even argue that those are not similar.  The Royals have a consensus top-10 ballpark in the league and are moving downtown, and the Braves had a very ordinary park at the time (Turner Field) and moved 20 miles outside of the city.  This is a one-of-a-kind situation, but we can say the one constant as with all new ballparks these days is looking to take advantage of the "Ballpark Village" concept.  The Royals have existed in purgatory since 1973, not really in the city and not close to anything, and surrounded only by a sea of parking with no room to grow or create additional revenue streams - sound familiar Brewers fans?  If the Crown Center stadium happens, it will be a fascinating story of revitalization and transformation for both the team and the city, and it will be a great case study for generations to come as to whether or not a sports stadium really does drive economic growth.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/18/26:

Brewers 26-18, -1.5, -- WC; 3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Dodgers

Twins 21-26, - 4.5, -1.5 WC; 3 v. Astros, 3 @ Red Sox

2026 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 1
Peter - 5

Rays Return to the Trop Amidst Ongoing Stadium Debacle

(image credit: Tampa Bay Rays and MLB.com)

The Rays are finally back at Tropicana Field for the 2026 season and for at least the next 3 years, following an eventful 2025 season at which all of their home games were played at a minor league stadium of the rival Yankees, with a unique schedule that was frontloaded to avoid the rainy Florida summer months.  This was all necessary due to a year-plus long repair and remodeling project precipitated by a pair of hurricanes in October 2024.  The major component of this $60M project was of course the replacement of the roof that was almost entirely ripped off, with a fiberglass material designed to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds.  Other parts of the remodel also included complete replacement of the playing surface that was also destroyed by the hurricane, as well as some upgrades to suites and clubhouses.  Although the majority of this project was funded though insurance claims and out of obligation of the City of St. Petersburg as the building owner, it was nice to see the Rays kick in a little money to make the best of a bad situation and spruce up the dump a little bit.  With how long this new ballpark saga has been going on, who knows if and when the new park will even happen, so some fan and player upgrades were surely much appreciated.

This brings us to where we are today, which is not much different than where the team was 19 years ago when I started writing about them - in a never-ending quest for a new home.  The team did finalize a sale to a group led by a Jacksonville-based developer towards the end of last season, so getting Stu Sternberg out of there was not an insignificant step.  This move brought about a rejuvenated approach with an influx of capital that is causing the team to explore sites in Tampa once more.  For now, the team is settled on a site near the campus of Hillsborough Community College, which is ironically a stone's throw from where they played last year at Steinbrenner Field.  The location is great, with close proximity to the airport, interstate, and the bay, and should not possess the same access concerns as their current home.  But the sticking point, as it has always been for the last two decades, is going to be financing.  The initial budget for their latest proposal is a staggering $2.3B, and that budget is surely going up with each passing day of the Iran War.  The team is asking for over $1B of that sum in public money, and their goal is to gain all necessary approvals by June 1st of this year.  Preliminary indications are that that's not going to happen, which already puts in jeopardy the proposed 2029 opening.  The Rays want to build a "Battery" type village as is in vogue now, which they would finance and is not even included with the $2.3B price tag.  It's a far cry from their original Al Lang Stadium proposal that would have cost less than $500M in 2007 dollars, and it goes to show how much money the team and government is wasting with each passing year that they do not act on this.

I've written about the Rays more than just about any other team on this site aside from the Brewers, and frankly I'm getting tired of it.  Erik and I don't even really want to go to Florida and just want this to be over, but it's also kind of like watching a car crash on the freeway - you get mad at the gawker delays, but you can't help but be fascinated by the wreck yourself.  The Rays, the city, and the county all deserve to be in this tempestuous bed they've made together, and I'm watching with one eye open to see how this plays out, and the other eye closed out of exhaustion over the whole ordeal.  Meanwhile, new proposed ballparks from other teams are starting to pass the Rays by, which I'll get to in future posts this season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/4/26:

Brewers 18-15; 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Yankees, 3 v. Padres, 3 @ Twins

Twins 15-20; 3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Guardians, 3 v. Marlins, 3 v. Brewers

2026 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 1
Peter - 4

Arizona Approves Funding for Chase Field Renovations

(photo from my visit to Chase Field for the 2023 World Series)

The Arizona Diamondbacks are currently in the process of selling off players to plan for their future, and they're planning for their future on the operations side as well.  Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed legislation last month that will unlock up to $500 million in funding for critical Chase Field infrastructure renovations.  These funds are being activated through an increasingly common mechanism in the sports world (including the new A's park), which is essentially a tax district that will capture all sales tax revenue generated by the stadium and a defined surrounding area, as well as "jock tax" revenue, and use that money to pay back the funds.  Not to get too much in the weeds here, but I think it's worth pointing out in today's political climate that the governor is a Democrat in a purple state and this bill received wide bipartisan support.  I mentioned in a post last year that the Diamondbacks are up against the end of their current lease approaching in 2027, and without these renovations, the team surely would have been forced to explore other stadium options.  So, regardless of what you might think of subsidizing sports venues, it was a wise move for Gov. Hobbs' reelection campaign to push for this bill to ensure the D-Backs did not leave Phoenix under her watch - this new source of funding will keep the Snakes in Phoenix through at least 2057.  Chase Field has been a boon to the urban core since the franchise's inception, particularly within the last few years following the team's World Series run in 2023.

I was at that World Series, and I vividly recall how much the stadium had barely seemed to change at all in the previous 16 years since I was first there in 2007.  The speaker system was a garbled mess, the jumbotron looked like it was well past its functional use, screens were pixelated and hard to read, and the air conditioning did not seem to be reaching to the upper deck where I sat.  By that point in 2023, the D-Backs had not even been able to safely open their roof for a couple of years while fans were inside.  All very similar problems that the Brewers faced recently, which also had to be rectified with state funding.  The Chase Field bill passed by the State of Arizona made it very clear that no money can be used for any aesthetic upgrades or fan suites, so if you factor in the $250M the team is also kicking in for that aspect, this stadium could look and feel very different in a few years.  Selfishly, I'm always sort of secretly hoping for new stadiums, but in the case of some teams like the D-Backs or the Blue Jays that have prime downtown real estate with an expensive obsolete roof, a renovation makes way more sense.  Despite the fact that I've been to Arizona for baseball more than just about any non-resident state, I may just have to return to see the renovations when they are complete.  It's a very exciting time in my world as a ballpark chaser, as all these chess pieces start to move with different teams, to think about how different the baseball stadium landscape might look in the next decade.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 7/31/25:

Brewers 64-44, +1.0, -- WC; 3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Braves, 3 v. Mets

Twins 51-57, -12.0, -5.5 WC; 3 @ Guardians, 3 @ Tigers, 3 v. Royals

Athletics 48-63, -15.0, -10.0 WC; 3 v. Diamondbacks, 3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Orioles

2025 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 8
Peter - 24

Tampa Bay Rays Reportedly Being Sold

It was announced around the All-Star Break last week that Stu Sternberg, the current majority owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, had reached an agreement in principle to sell the team to a group led by Patrick Zalupski, a Florida developer.  Details are scarce at this point, other than the fact that the valuation is around $1.7 billion, and that the deal could be completed as soon as September.  It's worth noting that Sternberg originally purchased the Rays for "only" $200M in 2004.  One other important detail is that Zalupski is interested in keeping the team in the Tampa Bay region, despite being based out of Jacksonville, and surely that had some weight in Sternberg reportedly accepting his bid.  This all comes at a time when the Rays are in the middle of a playoff push in their temporary home at an A-ball park, and the team's immediate and long-term future homes are both severely in doubt.  The MLB schedule has been released around this time the last few years, and I suspect it hasn't been released for 2026 yet because nobody is certain whether or not Tropicana Field will be repaired in time for next season.

Let's for argument's sake say the sale does go through.  Even if that happens, this essentially resets the entire new ballpark process back pretty close to square one.  Which means that we're looking at probably minimum 5 years out for when the Rays could potentially be playing in a permanent new home.  The new ownership group could certainly build off the legwork of past site studies, government negotiations, and designs, but they are also reportedly only interested in covering 60% of the stadium cost, which will mean trying to resurrect old public financing deals or finding money elsewhere.  St. Petersburg says they're keeping the door open to the new ownership group, but I find it hard to believe that they'd open their ears and their wallets all over again, only this time in 2026 dollars.  The new ownership group reportedly does prefer Tampa to St. Pete, but the current ownership group has tried and failed so many times in Tampa that I can't see that happening unless there is a larger private financing chunk, or if new previously unvetted sites emerge.  Tampa is in a different county than St. Pete which further muddies the political aspect.  The biggest site contender for a ballpark in Tampa in the past is now slated to become a soccer stadium, so that would seem to be off the table.  I'm obviously not a real reporter and I'm not privy to the day-to-day conversations, so maybe things have changed on that front, and maybe Tampa is willing to loosen their purse strings since they were within a fingernail of the team building in St. Pete.  But purely as an outsider who's been following this story for 20 years, to say I'm skeptical is an understatement.  My money would be on Orlando swooping in.  They've demonstrated that they have substantial private backing and have an organized campaign to bring a team to the area.  I could see them partnering with Zalupski to make something happen there if he doesn't have the stomach for a multi-year process in Tampa Bay.  I'm honestly kind of surprised that Orlando didn't win a bid to land the Rays in the first place.  Orlando is only about 90 minutes from Tampa and roughly the same size and media market, so I think this would also satisfy Commissioner Manfred's desire to keep a team in this area.  I've been wrong many, many times before, but as of July 21st 2025, that is my guess.

As always, and as I say multiple times a year with the Rays - stay tuned.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 7/21/25:

Brewers 59-40, --, +5.0 WC; 3 @ Mariners, 3 v. Marlins, 3 v. Cubs

Twins 48-51, -11.5, -5.0 WC; 3 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Nationals, 3 v. Red Sox

Athletics 42-59, -16.0, -12.0 WC; 3 @ Rangers, 4 @ Astros, 3 v. Mariners

2025 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 7
Peter - 23

A's Officially Break Ground on Las Vegas Ballpark

(photo credit: The Nevada Independent)

The day I never thought would happen has happened.  After over two decades of in-fighting, failed proposals, multiple ownership groups, and burned bridges in not one but two Northern California cities, the Athletics finally broke ground on a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip this past week.  It is a beautifully designed armadillo-like structure by one of my favorite architects - Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), who incidentally also designed the failed Howard Terminal ballpark in Oakland that I personally thought was even cooler - and, barring any setbacks, is slated to be open for the 2028 season.  I've been saying since the A's started pursuing Vegas a few years ago that I won't believe this is actually happening until I see a shovel in the ground, and I witnessed with my own two eyes multiple gold-plated shovels in the ground during the ceremony.  I actually tuned into the live-stream just to make sure what I was seeing was real.  MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Steve Hill of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Governor Joe Lombardo, Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson, embattled owner John Fisher, and A's President Marc Badain were among the dignitaries who pretended to shovel dirt from the pristine photo-op diamond-shaped dirt pile inside an air-conditioned trailer on the construction site, as part of an event that was emceed by team broadcaster and former Athletic player Dallas Braden.  

The groundbreaking event was pretty generic and scripted and typical of this type of ceremony, which was a little surprising given how Las Vegas operates, but the symbolism of this particular groundbreaking held a little bit more weight then many of its kind.  This was not a team simply building a new stadium just because they felt like they needed a new one like the Braves and Rangers in recent years, and this was not a team like the Twins or Brewers that broke ground on a park under threat of move or sale if it were not built.  Rather, this was a team that was actively homeless, playing in years of untenable situations in a stadium that was borderline unsafe, and in fear of being taken over by MLB and ceasing to exist entirely.  I don't want to say the Athletics "deserve" this ballpark, because the owner is a sleazebag billionaire who deserted Oakland for a few extra bucks, but I'm happy for the players, the organization, and that the city of Las Vegas is getting such a cool new attraction.  As much as I wished the team could have worked something out in Oakland, I'm at least happy that this saga finally seems to be heading towards the light at the end of the tunnel.  

I do still have my doubts.  Fisher has not shown credible evidence of where all of his private financing is coming from, other than banks verifying that yes he can afford it.  Tariffs, inflation, supply chain issues, the general state of the economy, and the impending expiration of the collective bargaining agreement all cast doubt on whether or not this project will finish on time.  And even if it does finish on time, will Fisher inevitably beg for more money like the Rays owner did to cover added costs?  Usually when these new stadiums get started, it kind of goes on autopilot and Erik and I start planning our trip there, but it's far from a certainty with this franchise.  It's more certain than it has been in 20 years, but all I can confidently say is that the stadium is being built, and professional baseball will be played in Las Vegas by somebody at some point.  I sincerely hope all of the groundwork being done in the Las Vegas community by the A's is a legitimate show of good faith, and not the rug being pulled over another city's eyes.  I'm super excited to see what a ball trip to Las Vegas will look like for Erik and I in our mid-40s, much more excited than whatever the hell is going on in Tampa Bay right now.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 6/30/25:

Brewers 47-37, -2.0; 3 @ Mets, 3 @ Marlins, 3 v. Dodgers, 3 v. Nationals

Twins 40-44, -12.5; 3 @ Marlins, 3 v. Rays, 3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Pirates
Athletics 34-52, -17.0; 3 @ Rays, 3 v. Giants, 3 v. Braves, 3 v. Blue Jays

2025 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 7
Peter - 17

Does Anybody Want the Rays?

(photo credit: CNN)

Happy sort-of Opening Day!  The 2025 MLB season officially kicked off in Tokyo today, and natural order has been restored as the Cubs are already in last place.  This season is particularly exciting because two new ballparks are supposedly breaking ground for the Athletics and Rays.  The A's are always clouded in mystery, but all signs and government approvals are so far pointing to them having shovels in the ground by around the time Erik and I are in Sacramento in June.  However, the Rays are a completely different story.  Remember in August of last year when I reported that their new stadium deal was officially approved?  And remember when I boldly predicted they were "99% likely" to be playing in a new ballpark by January 2029?  Well, a lot has changed in the last 6 months.  Two devastating hurricanes in October, a changing of the guard in the November elections, and a few delayed votes later, coupled with that word "inflation" we'd all like to stop thinking about, and all of a sudden, the Rays find themselves playing out of a minor league stadium for the 2025 season, and potentially homeless soon after that.  The team made known that they have no intention of honoring the terms of the public financing commitment that was formerly approved in December but has stated they are open to continued negotiations.  In other words - they want even more money.

Tropicana Field will supposedly be repaired in time for the 2026 season after being ravaged by Hurricane Milton (see photo above), but even that is not a guarantee and has not been formally approved yet.  It is a situation nobody really wants, but St. Petersburg is contractually obligated to do so, and the Rays don't really have a choice as they need somewhere to play and continuing in minor league parks for additional seasons would be untenable and unprofitable.  With the Rays now backing out of the new stadium deal, both sides are playing hardball and doing a lot of finger pointing, and St. Petersburg will certainly be in no rush to complete repairs if at all, as all it would do is continue extending the Rays lease the longer they wait (currently extended by one year already through the 2028 season).  It's become clear through various reports that there is a lot of lingering bitterness and passive-aggressiveness between the parties to this deal, and that they never seemed to want to work with each other to begin with.  Any path forward with this current ownership group now seems near impossible.  Nobody seems to want the Rays to even exist at all - not even God himself by the looks of the hurricane aftermath photos - and that has been the story of this franchise nearly since its inception.  It is looking more and more by the day that principal owner Stuart Sternberg will have to dupe someone into buying this team, cut his losses, and leave town (and by losses I mean a meager $1.3B and 20 years of profit sharing).  Regardless of how he may feel privately, Manfred is going to continue to say publicly that Tampa is a great baseball market and that the team should stay there regardless of ownership, but there is soon going to come a time where the other 29 owners will have to intervene and put their proverbial foot down.  Perhaps a new ownership group would want to continue to try to make baseball work in the region and deal with the uncertainty of the Trop, but I don't see why any investor who values their time and money would want to do so, particularly when there are plenty of other eager cities and states out there ready to play ball.

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now to never trust these new ballpark situations with any degree of certainty, but the pretty renderings distracted me!  I promise that I will not be using the phrase "done deal" to describe the Rays (or A's) ever again, and I will try not to report any more on these situations until there are literal shovels in the ground, or one of the teams has been sold.  But don't trust me on that.

White Sox Enter the Conversation for New Ballpark

(rendering by proposed developer Related Midwest)

With the Rays' new ballpark seemingly close to a lock, and the Royals and A's ballpark situations sputtering, the Chicago White Sox now have their proverbial hand out to the State of Illinois as they enter the stadium sweepstakes.  With the end of their current lease at Guaranteed Rate Field looming after the 2029 season, the White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf are being pro-active by circulating some sexy renderings for a new ballpark that could completely transform Chicago.  The proposed site is known as "The 78," which is a 62-acre vacant plot of land that was formerly home to a railyard for decades, and smack dab in the middle of downtown in the South Loop.  It has been coveted by developers for years, as it represents the largest undeveloped parcel of land in downtown Chicago with worlds of potential and tax revenue.  Billionaire Reinsdorf has "generously" offered to foot "some" of the bill for this project, but is largely hoping for a public subsidy of over $1.2B in the form of a 2% hotel tax.

There are several practical reasons why the White Sox would want a new park, so that in and of itself isn't a surprise.  The current location of Guaranteed Rate Field on the south side is horrible and very polarizing for both fans and visitors.  It's not a great or safe neighborhood, and it is surrounded by nothing but parking lots and the Dan Ryan Expressway.  Maintaining or building a new ballpark in its current location only benefits the residents and homes immediately west and walkable to the park, but is otherwise far from a destination for anyone else.  Moving to a downtown site would afford a surrounding development opportunity that just doesn't exist on the South Side; it's far more lucrative currently for the team to maximize all of the parking lot revenue.  The stadium itself was also completed in 1991 and had the misfortune of opening just before Camden Yards, which completely changed the game and started the retro ballpark craze.  This caused what was then known as Comiskey Park II to become obsolete almost immediately.  It also has some notable major design flaws that would be hard to remedy without a complete gut, such as the ridiculously steep upper bowl, and all of the vertical circulation being on the exterior outside the gates, which means that fans are restricted to only their ticketed level for the entire game.  With the stadium lease being up in 5 1/2 years and Reinsdorf being 88 years old, logistically now is the time to kick this conversation into high gear.

However, practical reasons aside, the timing and manner in which the team is pursuing this could not be any worse.  The Bears are also pursuing public financing for a new stadium at the same time and would surely be the preferred breadwinner if any public money is handed out at all, which is by no means a sure thing.  Guaranteed Rate Field was 100% publicly financed and is only a little more than 30 years old, so the appetite for funding another new park is just not there, especially when $50M in bonding still exists on the current ballpark that would have to somehow be managed.  Chicago might not even want to squander a major opportunity on this huge vacant parcel on another stadium, which have been proven in study after study to be a sinkhole for property taxes and do not spur desirable long-term development or growth.  It's also just not a great look for a billionaire to be asking for a handout in year when his team is vying to surpass the 1962 Mets as the worst in the history of the modern era.  It's a delicate balance to be sure, as these projects cost tons of time and capital, but the city could also be in a situation where the Bears, White Sox, and MLS Fire (who also play at Soldier Field) could all leave town, which Chicago would obviously like to avoid.

However inconceivable it might be for an octogenarian owner to threaten to move a team to another city or state, blackmail almost always works in these situations, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.  After the Rays in 2028, it's far from certain what the next new MLB park will be to open, despite what the respective teams or the media tell you.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 8/9/24:

Brewers 65-49, +7.0; 3 v. Reds, 4 v. Dodgers, 3 v. Guardians, 3 @ Cardinals

Twins 63-50, -3.5, +0.5 WC; 4 v. Guardians, 3 v. Royals, 4 @ Rangers, 3 @ Padres

Orioles 68-48, --; 3 @ Rays, 2 v. Nationals, 4 v. Red Sox, 3 @ Mets

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 7

Peter - 27

Rays New Stadium Deal Finally Official

(rendering courtesy of Tampa Bay Times)

Let the hyperbole and skepticism abound, Tampa Bay Rays fans.  You've been waiting for a new ballpark since pretty much Day 1 of your team's existence, and it appears the wait is almost over.  After decades of failed stadium efforts on multiple sites in multiple cities, and after many cockamamie schemes and threats to move the team, it appears that the Tampa Bay Rays will finally be getting a new home in downtown St. Petersburg.  In the past couple of weeks, the St. Petersburg City Council and the Pinellas County Commission both formally approved their shares of public subsidy for the estimated $1.3B ballpark, which will be one part of an overall $6.5B development of what is known locally as the Gas Plant District.  The ballpark and district will be sited next to and surrounding Tropicana Field, which is the current home of the Rays that will eventually be torn down.  Groundbreaking is expected in January 2025 with an anticipated completion in time for Opening Day 2028.  These dates coincide with the Rays' original 30-year lease on the Trop expiring after the 2027 season.

Some of the metrics of this historic project:

• St. Petersburg is contributing $429.5M to the total project, in the form of tax-exempt bonds that will be repaid through a TIF.  $287.5M of that money goes towards the ballpark, $12M for an on-site wastewater treatment facility, and the remainder towards infrastructure improvements for the overall district.  St. Petersburg is also selling 65 acres of public land to the Rays for this development for $105M.
• Pinellas County is contributing $312.5M to the total project, which will come from an existing hotel bed tax.  Only 40% of that tax is allowed by law to go towards stadium funding, so there will also be some debt incurred by the county to cover the gap.
• The Rays are contributing over $700M towards the ballpark, plus any cost overruns, as well as the development of the remainder of the site through debt, private equity, and outside investors.
• The Rays will have a 30-year lease with two 5-year optional extensions on the new ballpark, including a non-relocation agreement
• Ballpark will be the most intimate in the majors, with only 25,000-30,000 planned fixed seats on primarily 2 levels, and a capacity of around 34,000 for baseball games when factoring in social spaces and standing room areas, as well as a very minimal amount of foul territory.  It will feature a tiered pavilion-style fixed roof and artificial turf.
• Gas Plant District is planned to eventually include 5,400 residential units, 750 hotel rooms, 1.4M square feet of Class A office and medical space, 750K square feet of retail, a separate 4,000-seat concert venue, and 14 acres of green space.  A new African-American Museum will also be built - this site was an historically majority-black area of the city that was infamously displaced by the Trop in the 1980s.  It is unclear how much if any of the surrounding development will be built by the time the ballpark opens - hopefully it is closer to the Atlanta situation than DC.

Aside from the cash grab by a billionaire owner which I've repeated ad nauseum, the two most interesting parts of this ballpark to me are the roof and the site.  I cringed when I saw the renderings that depict the all-too-familiar low slung roof on trusses suspended over the field, as I immediately thought of all the troubles that Tropicana Field is notorious for with batted ball interference.  Many covered stadiums have successfully worked through this issue with extensive studies, but the roof just looks so short in the renderings that I really hope that some people smarter than me are not wasting all this effort just to recreate the same problem.  I also find it interesting that after years of trying to get out of downtown St. Petersburg because of the well-documented issues the site has with access from across the bay, that the Rays are just going all-in on building on the exact same site they are now.  It just goes to show that money cures all ills, and teams will follow anyone who is willing to cough it up.

It feels like I've been following the new Rays stadium process since this blog started over 17 years go, so in a way the end to this saga feels kind of anti-climatic.  I also am not entirely going to believe this is happening until I see pictures of shovels in the ground, but it sure seems to have a more solid foundation that the A's dumpster fire situation.  2028 has the potential to be just the beginning of a very exciting era of new major league ballparks, and Erik and I are ready for it.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 8/1/24:

Brewers 61-47, +5.0; 3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Braves

Twins 59-48, -6.0, -- WC; 3 v. White Sox, 3 @ Cubs

Orioles 65-44, +0.5; 4 @ Guardians, 3 @ Blue Jays

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 7

Peter - 27

Goodbye Oakland, Hello Sacramento

(unofficial probably not real but maybe logo courtesy of Reddit)

We're already at the calendar midpoint of the season, and this is amazingly the first week I don't have a ballpark visit or baseball travel to report on.  So instead, I thought I'd write about a different sort of travel, and an all-too-familiar topic - the never-ending relocation saga of the A's.  Way back in early April, the Athletics officially answered the question of where they would be playing for the next 3+ years while their new stadium in Las Vegas is supposedly getting built, by announcing a move to their temporary home 90 miles up I-80 to Sacramento.  They will be taking up residency in Sutter Health Park, a minor league park that will be shared with the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, who are ironically a Giants affiliate but were formerly an A's affiliate for many years.  The stadium opened in 2000 and seats about 14,000 people.  The A's will play there through at least 2027 with an option for the 2028 season if (and when) the Vegas park has a delayed opening.  During that time, they've chosen to essentially be homeless, by having no mention of Sacramento anywhere on their uniforms or team logos, which is both horrible and completely on brand for the Athletics franchise.

In many ways, this move is completely an A's move - sticking it to Oakland seemingly out of spite, and somehow making a bad situation even worse for its players and staff.  But in many other ways, it's shocking and seems like a logistical nightmare that could have been avoided.  One of the few good things that came out of the hostile takeover of the minor leagues by MLB in 2021 was that it geographically aligned the leagues more sensibly and reduced travel by creating 6-game series with almost every Monday off.  That might be great for the River Cats, but that will make scheduling very challenging when trying to fold in the A's.  There may now be scenarios where one or both teams could have road trips spanning multiple weeks.  Another obvious deficiency is the capacity of the park and just the general facilities being less than or smaller than MLB standards.  One could argue that the park still has a capacity twice the size of a normal Athletics crowd in Oakland, and that I'm sure the team will be forced to pour in millions to upgrade the facility, but none of that replaces the stigma that these major league players now feel like they are playing in the minor leagues.  I'm sure A's players already feel embarrassed by their current playing situation, and the move to Sacramento is lateral at best.  The Blue Jays made this work admirably in Buffalo in 2020-21, but that was during the pandemic due to Canadian COVID restrictions, so it was a completely different situation.  There's also just the strain this must put on the players/employees and their families knowing this will be a temporary situation.  They'll have to find houses and schools knowing they won't be there for more than 3 or 4 years.  And what free agent would ever want to sign there?  This is going to tank the payroll and big league roster even more, and will be an awful product to watch for those dozens of Sacramento fans who are excited for a taste of the big leagues.  On the money side, I'd be curious to know what the revenue hit will be for that poor billionaire John Fisher.  Many thought the A's would work out a lease extension in Oakland merely to keep their lucrative TV contract and stay in the larger market for awhile, so there must be some sort of financial incentive for this move that we're not aware of.  As we've seen play out in the last quarter-century, money is at the heart of every single A's front office decision.

Let's get down to what I really care about - how does this affect me?  Erik and I will now likely be obligated to make Tour 2025 a trip centered around Sacramento.  It means that at the end of the 2024 season, I'll be back down to 29 current MLB ballparks attended, which is always a sad moment for me.  And lastly, I've lost my last chance to sit in the outfield of a football stadium for $5 in a cold August mist.  Ok, so maybe that last one I won't miss at all, but I do hope the "Fuckin' A's" van makes its way up to Sacramento (see photo on left from The Tour).

UPDATE: Erik and I are heading to Seattle bright and early tomorrow for Tour 2024!  Come back next week to read all about it!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 6/27/24:

Brewers 48-33, +6.0; 3 v. Cubs, 4 @ Rockies

Twins 44-36, -8.0; 3 @ Mariners, 3 v. Tigers

Orioles 50-30, -1.0; 4 v. Rangers, 3 @ Mariners

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 3

Peter - 15

State of Wisconsin Approves Brewers Stadium Repair Bill

After nearly a year of political posturing (I first wrote about this last March), draft revisions, and lobbying, Governor Tony Evers signed into law a bill that provides the Brewers with half a billion dollars in government funding to perform much needed repairs on American Family Field.  Just about every major mechanical and electrical apparatus in AmFam Field is either obsolete or nearing the end of its functional life, so while this law is certainly not financing anything sexy that the public will notice, the maintenance is long overdue.  What started out as Evers just saying "hey, we have an enormous budget surplus, let's just give the Brewers a small portion of that," turned into a huge mess with people from every side walking in with their hands out and offering their own pork to throw into the bill.  The final details of the approved bill are as follows:

• $365.8M in state funds, which would primarily be financed by both visiting and Brewers player income taxes
• $135M combined from Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.  It's worth noting that both the city and the county were finally allowed to raise their own sales taxes on January 1st to save themselves from financial ruin, and now are required to immediately give some of that new money to the Brewers.
• $110M from the Brewers
• $2 ticket surcharge and $8 suite surcharge added to non-baseball events at American Family Field, which incrementally increase to $4 and $10 respectively, to help defray the cost of the state contribution.  This surcharge is estimated to provide about $20.7M over the course of their lease.  Once the state's funding has been completed, the surcharge would still continue in perpetuity, and its proceeds would transfer to the state's general fund rather than the ballpark district's fund.
• In exchange for the funding, the Brewers agreed to extend their lease to 2050, during which time the government funds would be made to the team in annual payments
• The Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District - the independent body that oversees financing and management of the ballpark - would expand to 13 members - 4 appointed by governor, 3 by senate, 3 by assembly, 2 by Milwaukee city/county, and 1 by the Brewers.
• The Brewers current lease vaguely requires that the ballpark district pay for capital improvements to American Family Field that keep it within the top 25% of Major League Baseball parks.  That provision remains in the new lease.
• The bill includes $25M rolled into the state financing portion to perform a study on what it would take to winterize the ballpark for off-season events.  Anyone who has been to American Family Field in the winter knows that the ballpark is not currently insulated, nor is it tempered in any way when there is no game or event.
• Any cost overruns from initial estimates, and any sort of non-repair or non-maintenance related ballpark upgrade (like the new $6.5M scoreboard), would fall to the Brewers/district

The most interesting thing about this whole process to me is that both the ballpark district and the state allowed the 0.1% 5-county sales tax to sunset in 2020 because the mortgage was paid off on the original construction, knowing full well that the district was legally obligated to finance any future repairs to the stadium.  Now here we are 3 years later, and what a surprise the district is out of money because a tax that generated over $600M in 24 years is now gone.  It seems to me that keeping that miniscule tax in place - one that was contentious 30 years ago but now is mostly forgotten - would have not solved this problem necessarily, but made it gravely less complicated and burdensome to taxpayers.

I won't rehash what I've already written and spoken about ad nauseum regarding subsidizing professional sports facilities.  One person can argue that billionaires don't need handouts and the Brewers are just blackmailing the state, and another person could argue that keeping $2.5B in economic output, 3,000 jobs, and $630M in player income taxes in the state is a good thing no matter the cost, and both of those people would be right.  There's no great answer that pleases everyone and this is a topic that equally divides both Democrats and Republicans.  But I would be lying if I said I'm not glad that the thing I care most about in this world outside of my family and friends will have a wonderful place to call home until I am at least well into my 60s - in Milwaukee where they should be.

David Stearns and Craig Counsell Skip Town

I wrote last November about David Stearns stepping down from his position as the President of Baseball Operations of the Brewers.  The speculation at that time was that he would quietly wait out the remaining year of his contract in 2023 and then sign with the Mets in 2024 since he is from New York, and that proved to be exactly what happened.  On literally the first day of the offseason, the Mets held a press conference for his signing.  One of Stearns' first orders of business was to fire manager Buck Showalter, who was only one season removed from a 100-win season but led the Mets to a very disappointing 2023.  This all led to further speculation that Stearns and Brewers manager Craig Counsell would be reunited in New York, as Craigers' contract expired after the end of this season.  However, no matter who is at the helm, history has repeatedly shown that "the Mets are gonna Met."  They instead went the route of hiring a manager with zero experience for practically nothing to lead the largest payroll in North American sports.  The Cubs immediately swooped in and signed Counsell - despite already having a manager - to a 5 year, $40 million contract, which now makes him the highest paid manager in baseball.

Now that I've had some time to reflect on both of these signings, I can't objectively say I'm super surprised nor do I blame either of them.  Am I disappointed?  Of course.  But in both Stearns and Counsell's cases, both of them had reached kind of the pinnacle of what they were going to achieve in Milwaukee.  That's just the sad and honest reality of being in the smallest market in baseball.  To both be in cities with seemingly endless resources, coupled with their talent, is going to give them the best chance to consistently win and most importantly to win the World Series.  For a team like the Brewers to not only remain competitive for such a long period of time - pretty much the entirety of the Stearns/Counsell era - but also to make the playoffs in 5 of the past 6 years is nothing short of remarkable, and a lot of that credit is owed to those two men.  I had heard a stat on a podcast shortly before Counsell signed with the Cubs in which they were trying to quantify a WAR-type number for what Counsell as a manager contributes to a team in terms of wins, and the number he came up with was 6 WAR.  I'm not going to pretend that I understand how WAR is calculated, but accounting for 6 wins by yourself is the difference between making and not making the playoffs just about every year.  Stearns is going to be able to help Steve Cohen spend money responsibly and efficiently given his background, and Counsell is going to be able to steer the ship for the Cubs and masterfully manage their bullpen.  I think I was a little bit more surprised with the Counsell signing than Stearns, only because I thought he would either step aside or remain with the Brewers given his family situation, but looking back at it objectively now, the Cubs make a ton of sense.  It's 90 minutes away, he knows the division, they have a huge payroll, and Chicago is actually closer to some of his kids in college than Milwaukee is.  He's able to have kind of the best of both worlds in being close with his family, while also setting the market for what managers deserve to make and proving he can win on the big stage.  Counsell is now the highest paid manager since Joe Torre in his years with the Yankees, and in today's age of $300, 400, 500 million contracts, that is kind of astounding.

I wish anyone reading a very happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!  Pitchers & Catchers report in 72 days, and I expect I'll have an announcement on my/our 2024 trips around that time.

Rays Announce Tentative New Ballpark Deal

(rendering courtesy of Gensler and Tampa Bay Times)

After 3 years of almost nothing but hearsay on the MLB ballpark front, all of a sudden it's been a really exciting time to be a ballpark chaser.  The A's are supposedly still moving to Vegas and a vote is expected to take place in November by the MLB Owners group, the Royals are expected to announce a site for their new ballpark by the end of the year in order to get a financing referendum on the spring ballot, and the Brewers are still working through the details of a generational investment in American Family Field.  The Blue Jays are midway through a huge renovation of Rogers Centre, and the Angels at some point soon will need to decide on their ballpark future.  Among all of this chatter - particularly with the A's move - people kind of forgot about the Rays situation, just because it's been quiet for so long.  But as of last week, they have suddenly emerged as perhaps the top contender to be the next team to land a new stadium.  The Rays announced last week their plans to construct a new $1.3B stadium next door to Tropicana Field.  You can read about all of the financial details here, but the intent is for a combination of team ownership and private investors to pony up about half of that cost, and for the other half to be funded through some sort of hotel/resort tax from Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg.  The ballpark would be a primarily a one-deck ballpark, likely with a fixed roof, and would continue the trend of smaller ballparks within a larger year-round development.  Pending government approvals (which are far from a guarantee), the goal would be to open the ballpark in time for the 2028 season, which is a significant date as it is tied to the team's current lease at The Trop expiring after 2027.  This deal might represent the last hopes of Tampa Bay getting a new park built without some sort of lease extension or temporary home - or worst case, selling or moving the team.

All of the questions we always have about almost every new ballpark built in this century still apply to the proposed new Rays ballpark.  Why does a millionaire need a handout?  How is a 30,000 seat stadium economically viable for a public investment?  How does a professional sports team positively or negatively affect the average taxpayer?  What is the true amount of the total public money behind all of the smoke and mirrors - hidden infrastructure costs, who pays for cost overruns, sale cost of the publicly owned land to the team vs actual appraised value, etc?  I'm conflicted on these questions at best and won't rehash the topic of subsidizing sports venues.  It's a problem that is never going away as there is always going to be some city somewhere willing to shell out cash for a value that may be real or perceived.  The Rays also have the added layer of their ballpark location.  For the longest time, the team was pursuing a site in downtown Tampa as that is where the majority of the team's fans are concentrated, and studies have shown the huge obstacle of getting people to games over the bay as a reason for poor attendance.  But the team is going all-in on the battle-tested theory that "if you build it, they will come."  And in this case, I don't mean that the stadium is "it," but rather the development surrounding the ballpark.  It came down to the fact that the Rays have access to a seemingly infinite amount of land at the Tropicana site, and just wouldn't be afforded that luxury at the Tampa site, despite the perk of being closer to the population base.  The Braves forever changed the game when they constructed The Battery around their new ballpark 6 years ago, and we will be seeing every city in America moving this direction if they haven't already.  It just makes sense to capture as much revenue as you can from 81+ events per year, particularly for teams in a smaller media market like the Rays.

Am I excited that we have another case of a wealthy owner essentially blackmailing a city for a new ballpark?  Of course not.  Am I excited that I will have to go back to God's Waiting Room in Florida, probably in the peak of summer heat?  Hell no.  But will fancy renderings of a beautiful new ballpark blind me to all of that?  Absolutely.  The Rays deserve a new ballpark more than possibly any other MLB team because of how good they've been the last 15 years despite playing in a dump with no fans and a bare-bones payroll, so I'm excited for them and I hope this new stadium is, for once, more than hearsay.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 9/25/23

Brewers 88-65, +6.0, clinched playoff spot, division magic number 1; 3 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Cubs

Twins 83-73, +9.5, clinched AL Central; 3 v. Athletics, 3 @ Rockies

2023 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 4

Peter - 21

Northwoods League Launches Women's Softball League

(image courtesy of northwoodsleague.com)

The Northwoods League has never been a league that rests on its laurels, and has set its sights on becoming North America's premier summer collegiate league since its inception.  It has now spread its footprint to 24 teams across 7 states and 2 countries and a 72-game schedule, and it has shown no signs of slowing down its expansion.  Having just wrapped its 30th season, not even the baseball world is enough and now is attempting to conquer the softball world as well.  The league announced this summer that it will be starting a women's softball component in 2024.  It would be the same type of summer collegiate structure as the baseball league in which female college athletes with at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining will be able to play.  Teams have yet to be announced, but it is expected that the inaugural year will feature a 40-game schedule with host cities within the existing NWL Baseball footprint.  I think it's a pretty safe bet that Rosemont, IL will feature a team as they have one of the premier softball complexes in the Midwest next door to the Chicago Dogs stadium on I-294, which is no longer in use since the National Pro Fastpitch league folded in 2021, and I would guess that every current Northwoods League city that has a major university with a softball program will likely be in consideration for a team - Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Green Bay, etc.  I would also guess it's going to be 6 teams max to start.  These are all just speculations, but regardless, I am very excited for this and I would totally go watch a game.  I had been wanting to get to a Chicago Bandits game ever since I went to see the Dogs play in 2018, but then the pandemic started and the league folded, so it obviously never happened.  I would be excited to watch a live softball game for the first time, as I am perhaps even more amazed by watching somebody throw a giant ball 75mph underhand as I am watching somebody throw a ball 100mph overhand.

As an aside, Green Bay defeated St. Cloud to win the first ever championship for the Green Bay franchise.  I could not help but find myself rooting for the Rox as I watched the game since I cannot wait to become a season ticket holder next season following our move to the area.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 9/4/23

Brewers 76-61, +2.5; 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Yankees

Twins 72-66, +6.0; 3 @ Guardians, 3 v. Mets

2023 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 3

Peter - 18