The Tampa Bay Rays are facing a December 31, 2018 deadline to decide whether they will leave Tropicana Field for Hillsborough County, where only one site is being put forward for their consideration: the southwest corner of Ybor City.
If the Rays choose to stay in Pinellas County, the likely location for a new Rays stadium will become the parking lot of Tropicana Field. That is, if the team chooses to stay Florida beyond 2027 at all.
The dominating question as we consider a Rays move to Ybor City: how would the Rays (and/or their public sector partners) pay for a stadium likely to cost over $800 million?