Florida Construction News staff writer
The Tampa Bay Rays have released four new renderings of their proposed new ballpark, highlighting how the 30,000-seat venue could be transformed to host concerts, sporting events, graduations and large-scale community gatherings throughout the year.
Renderings depict the venue configured for major concerts and touring shows, graduation ceremonies and academic events, sports festivals and civic gatherings, and professional wrestling, mixed martial arts and boxing.The facility is planned as an indoor venue, which the Rays say would make it the largest indoor event facility in the Tampa Bay region and one of the largest in Florida.The team is promoting the ballpark as a year-round economic and entertainment destination capable of accommodating a wide range of events beyond its baseball schedule.
“We have said from the beginning that our new ballpark is about more than baseball,” said Tampa Bay Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby. “A Forever Home ballpark for the Rays is about creating an economic engine for our region through a steady and vast array of special events that will drive hotel occupancy, restaurant traffic, parking revenue, airport activity and transit usage.
“In doing so, we create thousands of jobs across hospitality, entertainment, security, operations, and support services. It’s the definition of a generational opportunity for our region.”
The team also expects the expanded event calendar to support employment in hospitality, entertainment, security, operations and other sectors.
The proposed facility will be designed to convert efficiently between baseball and other event configurations, allowing it to accommodate both large touring productions and community events.
The ballpark could also serve as a venue for university graduations, convocations and other academic events. The Rays specifically identified Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus as a potential beneficiary, along with other educational institutions in the region.
Another proposed use is sports festivals, including youth volleyball tournaments, cheer competitions and basketball showcases. The facility could also accommodate conventions, trade shows, civic assemblies and other large community events.
The fourth use case focuses on ring sports, with the proposed ballpark designed to accommodate professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, boxing and other combat sports.
According to the team, the combination of baseball, concerts, sporting events, academic ceremonies and civic gatherings could generate additional hotel stays, restaurant spending, parking activity and transit use while creating jobs across multiple industries.
