ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are off to a strong start, selling out Tropicana Field for its season opener. But the team’s time at the Trop is ticking. Rays leadership expects a deal for a new stadium to be finalized by the end of this year. If not, leaders said the team may look for a new home outside of Tampa Bay.

Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Rays, told our partners at the Tampa Bay Times that the team is in talks with officials from both St. Petersburg and Tampa about a new stadium. He added that he feels optimistic the team can stay in Tampa Bay, which they’ve called home since 1998.

Back in January, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch announced his choice of the Hines-Rays team to redevelop Tropicana Field and the surrounding Gas Plant District, ending the years-long search for a developer. Part of the Hines-Rays plan includes building more affordable housing, outdoor space and entertainment, in addition to a new stadium.

Following Welch’s announcement, Rays president Brian Auld said it was a big step toward keeping the team in St. Pete, but they aren’t taking Tampa off the table yet.

“The fact that our RFP has been selected, the trajectory of the Tampa Bay regional economy all are good signs for us and we hope to capitalize on them and if that means building here in St. Petersburg then that’s what we’ll do,” Auld said in a January interview with Spectrum News. “As I mentioned though, we have to keep dialogue open around other sites too because if at any point things go off the rails, we’ve got to have a backup plan that’s ready.”

On Sunday, fans eagerly lined up outside the gates well before they opened for the game against the Detroit Tigers. Some said they want the Rays to stay in St. Pete.

“If they go to Tampa, the traffic will be horrible,” said Joyce Bearden, a season ticket holder from Hudson. “This is a much better place, and I never understood why there was any thought about moving it anyplace else. This is just perfect.”

But for fans that have a bit longer of a commute, they said they’d like to see the team relocate.

“I would love them to be closer to Orlando,” said Patrick Smith from Winter Springs. “If it was closer to us, we’d definitely get season tickets. I’ll tell you that much. It’s a little bit of a drive for us, but if it was a little bit closer, more towards Orlando would be our preference.”

As for now, the Trop is still the Rays’ home until their agreement with the stadium ends after the 2027 season.