The fledgling ballpark plan in the Tampa Bay area is dead, placing the future of the Rays franchise there in jeopardy. The team simply ran out of time in its agreement with the City of St. Petersburg to relocate the team elsewhere in the Tampa area from the Tropicana Dome, Rays owner Stu Sternberg said on Tuesday. And the way things stand right now, the team is back to square one in its ballpark search. The Rays' ballpark situation, coupled with the problems the A’s have had in Oakland funding a new ballpark and locating a site for more than a decade, is now impeding Major League Baseball’s growth curve. MLB would like to expand to 32 teams, but Manfred has unequivocally said the owners will not entertain that prospect until the Oakland and Tampa Bay stadium situations are rectified.

Source: Forbes December 11, 2018 20:58 UTC