Tampa Bay Rays Name Change Proposed By St. Pete Council Member

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg city council member wants the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team to change its name amid ongoing negotiations to build a new stadium in the city, according to a report.

Councilwoman Gina Driscoll wants to change the team's name to the St. Petersburg Rays, according to a request added to the council's Dec. 14 agenda, WFLA reported.

Mayor Kenneth Welch confirmed the request in a Tampa Bay Times column published Wednesday and also shared his thoughts on the possibility.

"I recall this idea being mentioned more than 15 years ago while I served on the Pinellas County Commission, but then and now, I firmly believe our powerful strength as a region includes all sides of the bay, all corners of Pinellas County, and all surrounding counties from Citrus all the way down to Sarasota," Welch wrote.

In September, the Tampa Bay Rays reached an agreement for a new stadium with the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, according to the team’s principal owner, Stuart Sternberg.

At the end of January, Welch chose the Rays in partnership with Houston-based developer Hines out of four pitches to redevelop 86 acres in the Historic Gas Plant District, which includes the team’s home, Tropicana Field.

With their lease at Tropicana Field expiring in 2027, the baseball team has promised the proposed ballpark would be completed by 2028.

The 30,000-seat, fixed-dome roof stadium is expected to cost more than $1.3 billion, according to a news release from the city. The Rays will pay for more than half of the new ballpark and will be responsible for any cost overruns.

The city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County will contribute about $300 million each to the project.

The agreement also increases the number of affordable and workforce housing units to be built by the partnership to 1,200, with at least half of that amount to be built on the Historic Gas Plant site. It also adds on-site affordable units for seniors.