A’s relocating from Oakland, but Rays find a way to stay in Tampa area

A's relocating from Oakland, but Rays find a way to stay in Tampa area

For years, the A’s and Tampa Bay Rays franchises were kindred spirits, doing more with less better than anyone else in baseball.

The Rays are once again defying the odds and back in the wild-card hunt after a mid-season slump. The A’s won’t make the postseason, but have been one of the hottest and most entertaining teams in the majors since July 1.

But there is something different about the Rays heading into their final visit to Oakland: They have a new stadium on the way that will keep them in the only home they have ever known.

The A’s, unless you missed it, are moving to Sacramento after this season and, presumably then to Las Vegas because a stadium agreement could not be reached in Oakland. The A’s, according to reports, are closing in on finalizing their stadium deal on The Strip, but that might still be another four months away.

Both teams have been plagued by stadium issues over the years, and for much of the past decade the Rays seemed like the most likely team in the majors to be relocated. A bid for a waterfront ballpark in St. Petersburg was struck down. A plan was even floated for the franchise to split home games between Florida and Montreal.

Both fan bases have seen their team’s best players traded off to keep down payroll for years. But Rays fans got their golden ticket last month. The team is staying put after city and county officials approved funding for a $1.3 billion stadium on the same site as Tropicana Field.

It was the kind of announcement – and resolution – A’s fans dreamed would happen in Oakland.

“Any other vote today, other than the outcome we had, would have said that this community made a mistake 30 years ago. And I don’t believe that for a second,” Pinellas County commissioner Brian Scott told reporters last month. “The Rays are part of the fabric and culture, not only in St. Pete, but also the Tampa Bay region.

“I think we’re going to look back in 20, 25, 30 years from now and say this was an incredible thing.”

The Rays’ new stadium is scheduled to open in 2028, the same season the A’s hope to begin play at their proposed new home on the Las Vegas Strip.

No matter what happens by then, it’ll be a new world for a pair of franchises that have defied the odds for more than a decade.

The A’s and Rays have each reached the postseason six times over the past 12 seasons. Only the Dodgers and Yankees have reached the postseason more often.

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