Julio Cortez/Associated Press
The Tampa Bay Rays need a new home after Hurricane Milton ripped through Tropicana Field in October.
Sports analysts are talking about where the Major League Baseball team will play after a temporary fix next year and as questions surrounding cost overruns and funding of a new $1.3 billion ballpark continue.
ESPN made some predictions last week, listing seven cities that are some of the “most likely destinations if the Rays do move.”
Austin made the list of possible new homes, along with Nashville, Tenn.; Salt Lake City, Utah.; Charlotte, N.C.; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Montreal, Canada. ESPN called the cities “the usual suspects.”
Before the hurricane, the Rays planned to use Tropicana Field for three more seasons while building a new ballpark in St. Petersburg to use starting in 2028, according to a news report from MLB.
After Hurricane Milton tore through the stadium, political drama related to funding and timing has ensued. In mid-November, the team announced it would play 2025 home games in Tampa at the George M. Steinbrenner Field, where the New York Yankees hold spring training. After that, the team could move to Texas.
The Austin Baseball Commission website says the city is on the short list for possible MLB expansion, along with Nashville, Portland and Salt Lake City. The MLB has not expanded since 1998, when it added the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the website says.
Commission cofounders Derrik Fox and Matt Mackowiak said they will explore any option for relocation in a statement for a MySA.com report.
“Since we launched the Austin Baseball Commission in June, our goal has been to bring a MLB franchise to Austin, whether that be through the league’s planned expansion in 2029 or through relocation,” Fox and Mackowiak said in the joint statement. “Austin is the strongest market under consideration and the business, community, fan, and political support for ATXMLB.com has been fantastic in a very short time.”
