ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Saturday was all about Tampa Bay Rays baseball, and the adrenaline rush was easy to feel ahead of the upcoming season at this year’s Rays Fan Fest.

  • Rays Fan Fest held at Tropicana Field Saturday
  • Team presidents say they're looking forward to split season
  • LEARN MORE: Rays Fan Fest

But what future seasons might look like is up in the air.

Team presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman spoke about plans to move forward with a split season.

“We’re excited about this sister city plan, and we’re excited as the year goes by to explain it in greater detail and to turn some of those boos into cheers as we figure this out,” Silverman said.

The presidents explained under this plan, the team will have more resources to work with, adding the team is not viable to exist as is.

“What we’re going to try to do is take the one million plus fans that come to our games every year, and instead of having that spread out over 80 games, have it spread out over 40. We’ve looked at the data, our fans come to between one and three games on averages. If we can get those fans to still come to that many games, in 40 instead of 80 games, we’re going to talk about doubling our attendance, our revenues, and having a much more sustainable business,” Auld said.

They explained the extra resources will allow them to take bigger risks in order to have a more competitive product.

“You have these two markets that both love baseball. Combined, we have the ability to do more, with more and everyone is going to be happier with a better product on the field,” Silverman said.

Still, some fans aren’t on board with the plan. They say they are taking it one day at a time for the team they love.

“Let’s leave that for tomorrow, because that’s a decision that’s not going to be made today. And we are not privy to a lot of the behind-the-scenes talks that are going on,” said Rays fan Sherry Langlais.

The Rays lease at Tropicana Field doesn’t expire until the 2027 season, and at last check, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman was adamant about holding them to it.