TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Will Major League Baseball’s hottest team leave Tampa and move to Orlando?
The 2023 MLB season has been a historic one for the Tampa Bay Rays so far. From breaking records, growing attendance at home games and hitting home runs after home runs, it’s no secret that everybody wants in on the Rays’ success, but will the Tampa Bay team leave one part of Florida to go to another?
On Tuesday, former NBA executive and Orlando Magic co-found Pat Williams revealed plans for a potential MLB stadium in Orlando. Williams also said that if the Rays can’t get a new ballpark in St. Pete, the city of Orlando would welcome the team with open arms.
“If it doesn’t work out, it makes great sense. It makes wonderful sense,” Williams told reporters. “We’re here for them if they need us.”
A group led by Williams said they’ve been hard at work to start looking for a team in Orlando, even if the Rays remain in the Tampa Bay area. According to Front Office Sports, the pitch included a $1.7 billion stadium “funded in part by $975 million from tourist taxes.”
FOS said the group, which calls the proposed team “The Dreamers,” also “wants to build 1,000 hotel rooms near the stadium.”
“Orlando has proven in the years since the Magic began playing in 1989 that it is every bit a big league sports town,” Williams said in a statement. “The Orlando Magic is as popular as ever, soccer fans have embraced the Orlando City Lions, and now it’s time to step up to the plate and make baseball happen, too.”
While Orlando sees hundreds of thousands of tourists each year due to the city’s popular theme parks such as Universal, SeaWorld, and of course, Walt Disney World, Williams hopes that the addition of a new sports team will bring in even more guests.
“If only 4% of Orlando tourists attended just one game, that alone would be enough to result in the #6 ranking for MLB attendance for the season,” The Dreamers website read.
During this year’s spring training, the Rays even got to experience what it would be like to play in Orlando. After Hurricane Ian left damages to the Rays’ facilities in Port Charlotte back in September, Disney agreed to host a portion of the Rays’ spring training at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Despite Tropicana Field, the Rays’ home stadium in St. Pete, being considered one of the “worst MLB stadiums” by sports analysts and fans, the city has made plans to renovate the 33-year-old stadium.
At the end of January, Mayor Ken Welch announced the decision to partner with the Houston-based developer Hines to help redevelop the area’s Historic Gas Plant District, which includes affordable housing, a hotel, and Tropicana Field.
With the Rays’ lease expiring in 2027, the baseball team promised that the proposed ballpark would be completed by 2028. Despite major conversations over whether Tropicana Field would remain in St. Petersburg or move to Tampa, it seems as though the Rays will stay in Pinellas County.
“We want to keep the Rays here. They brought in a strong financial package of $1.8 billion in equity, which is substantial and they have a great impact into the future property, taxes, employment all those economic benefits, and it became pretty clear to me that this was the right choice,” Mayor Welch said during a press conference.
The Tampa Bay Rays have not yet released a statement on if they would potentially move to Orlando or not.
So far this season, the Rays lead the MLB for most wins with a 29-7 record.
