Report: Renovating The Trop Too Expensive

The Rays say they need a new stadium with wider concourses, better seats and a more appealing roof. Now, they've got some evidence that Tropicana Field may not be a suitable long-term home.

World-renowned stadium-builder Populous (formerly HOK) released a report Monday that estimated the cost of renovating Tropicana Field to modern stadium standards at $430 million. That includes wider concourses, better sightlines, wider seats and a retractable roof. They estimated the cost of a brand-new ballpark at $470 million.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=107767

Location, Location, Location

Two weeks after we first reported plans for a new waterfront stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays were forever dead, the team made it official on Friday: building a retractable-roof stadium at Al Lang Field is no longer an option.

For more, continue here: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=106426

Mayoral Candidates Debate New Rays Stadium

On a night where the Tampa Bay Rays completed a two-game sweep in the new Yankee Stadium, the six frontrunners in this fall's St. Petersburg mayoral race debated how - and where - a new baseball stadium should be built in Pinellas County.

For more, continue here: http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105529