The Tampa Bay Rays have long been dissatisfied with Tropicana Field, their home ballpark. Built in the late 1980s to try to lure a MLB team (and the White Sox nearly moved there), it’s outdated and in probably the worst possible location in the Tampa Bay area for a ballpark — in a corner of St. Petersburg, across Tampa Bay from the bulk of the fanbase.
Drawing fans there has always been difficult for the Rays, even when they are winning. Plans to build a new ballpark in the Ybor City area of Tampa fell through in late 2018.