Rays Owner Says Splitting Season Between Tampa, Montreal by 2028 'Only Option'

The Tampa Bay Rays are once again preparing fans to see the club split its home games between central Florida and Montreal, Quebec, in the near future.

Chairman Stuart Sternberg told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the move is the "only option in my mind" with the team's Tropicana Field lease set to expire after the 2027 season:

"We are getting toward 2028 and you can't snap your fingers and just have the stadium show up. It's getting trickier and trickier by the year to get something done. This year certainly set things back, but fortunately we've got a strong group of people who work for us and we've got a very motivated group of people in Montreal who want us. And I think we have a plan that makes incredible sense. At least it does to me. And we're going to try to see it through."

While progress is being made in Canada, Sternberg told Topkin that he hasn't been approached by any local groups looking to build a new stadium in Florida or buy the team:

"I still hold out optimism that the local business leaders and local politicians will come around a bit and see the value proposition here in having baseball. And doing it in a way that makes a bit more financial sense and doing it in a way that makes it a more robust project here because of the complement of being in Montreal as well."

For better or worse, the chairman seems all-in on Montreal, telling Topkin there's "no plan B right now."

Built in 1990, Tropicana Field has been the home of the Rays since 1998, though the domed facility long left plenty to be desired. The location, 20 miles outside of Tampa, and the catwalks have often been cited as pain points. 

Major League Baseball previously gave Sternberg permission to explore hosting games in Montreal, but it remains unclear how such a move would work locally.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman told reporters in June 2019 that he had "no intention of bringing this latest idea to our city council to consider. In fact, I believe this is getting a bit silly."

Montreal has been without a permanent MLB team since the Expos became the Nationals and moved to Washington, D.C., ahead of the 2005 season.