Yes, you read it just right. Initially, there were just quiet whispers around it, but now, Orlando Baseball is laying some serious groundwork. The Sunshine State, known for its beaches and theme parks, is gearing up for something even bigger.
Wondering who called the shots? It’s the Orlando Dreamers, an organization started by late Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams to bring a baseball team to town. Well, they don’t just dream, they know how to turn it real. Just recently, they have made a striking move to win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
If you have been keeping tabs, you’d know that just last month, the Tampa Bay Rays stepped back from the proposal of a $1.3 billion stadium deal in St. Petersburg. Following that, Gov. DeSantis revealed that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is in favor of keeping the Rays in the Sunshine State – Florida. Additionally, Manfred favors having two teams in Florida.
Yes, Orlando’s having its own franchise, the Rays! According to DeSantis, Major League Baseball doesn’t want to leave Florida. After all, it’s the country’s third-most populous state. Since it’s one of the fastest-growing states, MLB favors working there. DeSantis further signaled about the ones who are interested in acquiring the team. Although no names were taken but he was referring to Orlando.
The Orlando Dreamers have managed an ambitious $1.5 billion in pledged funding to lure an MLB team and build a brand-new stadium. Sounds unreal? Well, they didn’t just announce it for the sake of it. The announcement was backed by verbal commitments from authorised investors as well as preliminary letters of intent. This announcement has just made things serious on another level. Want to know the frontman behind? It’s none other than MLB Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.
He expressed how thrilled he is with how things are turning out: “We are extremely pleased with the recent rapid progress in financing interest towards prospective MLB team acquisition.” The Dreamers have earned the attention of Rays ownership over this. And not just the Rays. According to insiders from the organisation, this announcement has the attention of local politicians, Manfred, and DeSantis as well.
If everything falls just in the right place, then Orlando will soon be a home to an MLB team. Meanwhile, there’s a piece of strange news from the Rays.
Are the Rays selling pieces of Tropicana Field’s roof?
It has long been known that since 1998, Tropicana Field has been the home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Although the Rays don’t officially own the Trop Field or its roof, for that matter. The stadium is public property, and the Rays are just the tenants. The Trop Field is also used for college baseball matchups. When it comes to the Rays, all the operations around the dome are handled by the Rays’ landlord, St. Petersburg.
So, how come the Rays are selling pieces of the roof, and why?
You see, the pieces of its roof that cover the stadium have become more like souvenirs after they were blown off because of Hurricane Milton. The damaged roof will be replaced with a new roof before the next season.
It will take you by surprise that those damaged pieces of the roof have become so popular among the Rays’ nation that they are sold for $15 each at their home games. The collected funds directly go to the account of Rays Baseball Foundation. While some pieces are sold during home games, others are turned into art.
By selling those pieces, the raised funds went to the community-based non-profit organisation, student scholarships, and some funds were utilised for caps and jerseys for players and coaches in the Tampa Bay area.
What are your thoughts about this?
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