ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays and their ballpark design firm, Populous, on Thursday released new renderings and more details about the Rays neighborhood ballpark that has been proposed to replace Tropicana Field.

What You Need To Know

The approximately 30,000-seat ballpark will have a three-deck design and feature a variety of comfortable seating types, the team said. It will include premium clubs and suites to flexible viewing areas, decks and social gathering spaces.

All concourses will include views of the field, and the park will feature a wide variety of fan amenities including a successor to the fan-favorite Rays Touch Tank Experience at Tropicana Field.

“Our baseball park will be the most intimate and inviting in the sport,” said Rays President Matt Silverman. “The park is designed to bring our fans as close to the field as possible, to create a distinctive, compelling game experience.”

The Rays neighborhood ballpark is the anchor to the Historic Gas Plant District Development.

The project will include upwards of 8 million square feet of development, including more than 5,000 residential units, 600 affordable/workforce housing units on the site, and another 650 units elsewhere in the city. It also will include 1.4 million square feet of office/medical space, and 750 hotel rooms.

The St. Petersburg City Council and the Pinellas County Commission are expected to vote on the ballpark and development agreements in July.

If approved, construction on the ballpark would start in January 2025, and it will be ready for Opening Day 2028. 

The Rays have played in Tropicana Field since their inaugural season, 1998.