Tampa Bay Rays Cancel Plans to Build New Stadium in St. Petersburg

The Tampa Bays Rays' plans to build a brand new ballpark in St. Petersburg have been scrapped ... the team announced it's now shifting its focus to restoring its current Tropicana Field home for the 2026 season.

The team released a statement on social media Thursday morning ... saying after careful deliberation, "We have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this time."

"A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision."

Of course, the area was impacted by Hurricane Milton ... and the Trop was hit with severe damage as a result.

Stuart Sternberg -- the owner of the Rays -- was given until March 31 to meet certain conditions to gain public financing. The team was expected to contribute $700 million toward the project.

"While the decision of Tampa Bay Rays ownership to terminate the agreements for a new stadium and new development is a major disappointment, it is not unexpected," St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said in a statement. "Nor is it the end of the Historic Gas Plant District story."

"The city intends to honor our current commitment to repair Tropicana Field in accordance with the current use agreement. As for the future of baseball in our city - if in the coming months a new owner, who demonstrates a commitment to honoring their agreements and our community priorities, emerges - we will consider a partnership to keep baseball in St. Pete."