ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The new Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal is causing some in St. Petersburg to wonder if the team should change its name to reflect the city where it will be housed. 

What You Need To Know

On Friday, St. Petersburg Councilwoman Gina Driscoll added a new business agenda item to the Dec. 14 meeting.

It said, "Respectfully requesting that the administration include in stadium negotiations a team name change from "Tampa Bay Rays" to "St. Petersburg Rays" and present a report on the subject to City Council during its scheduled meeting on January 4, 2024."


Some longtime residents like the idea. 

“I think if they are going to take our money, they need to take our name. Bottom line," said Joshua Streeter. “I like that everyone wants to be a regional area, and we are, but Clearwater is not Tampa, Tampa is not St. Pete, and Tampa Bay is a body of water - nobody is playing baseball there.”

Streeter has lived in the city for 16 years. He has an issue with the City paying so much into a stadium to begin with, but said if it is happening, a name change should be the first thing agreed upon. 

“The least they could do is take our name. That should be the start of discussions," said Streeter.

The idea of a name change has been floated around ever since former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker began reaching out to current council members pushing for the change, according to Spectrum Bay News 9's partners at the Tampa Bay Times.

Neither Baker nor the Tampa Bay Rays organization have commented on the matter to Spectrum Bay News 9.