St. Petersburg wants its brand incorporated with Rays as part of stadium deal

The latest chapter in the eternal story of the Tampa Bay Rays' pursuit of a new stadium involves a branding twist of sorts for its hometown.

In September, the Rays announced its latest plans for a new stadium in St. Petersburg that's adjacent to their current home of Tropicana Field, Major League Baseball's quirkiest and least-liked stadium. Team owner Stuart Sternberg will reportedly contribute half or more than half of the proposed $1.2B in funding to build the venue, but he's looking for some help in doing so.

That said, there's a significant pool of tax dollars that will potentially fund the rest of its development, around $600M worth. On Friday, Front Office Sports' Eric Fisher discussed a recent public hearing held by St. Petersburg's city council where some unique proposals on how the city can maximize its investment were discussed. Fisher listed the following:

"Alternate jerseys, featuring a St. Petersburg logo, that would be sold year-round."

"Placement of St. Petersburg signs within the ballpark."

"Input from city officials on the facility’s naming."

"Additional emphasis on the St. Petersburg stadium location during Rays game broadcasts."

The alternate jersey sounds like a job for Nike as part of its City Connect uniform program that began in 2021. While some uniforms have been hits, others have left plenty to be desired but the concept of giving a nod to a team's home through these unique threads is a noble one. St. Pete's could surely have something to say about this or about a different alternate uniform as the majority of teams in the league have at least one outside of City Connect.

Signs about the city and the name of the facility are ideas that will come in significant conflict with Sternberg's likely strong desire to draw in advertising and sponsorship revenue. Those spaces may more or less be reserved for corporations that are willing to spend millions to be associated with the Rays, one of baseball's most successful teams despite yet having a World Series title to show for it.

Finally, putting "additional emphasis" on the stadium location would involve tons of discussions with whichever local channel is broadcasting Rays games by the time the stadium is set to open in 2028. Advertisers also play major dollars to be name-dropped in the context of live broadcasts, whether from the commercials themselves, sponsored segments or paid callouts. Similar to the naming rights or signage, this may be a tough call despite its noble cause.

Regardless, it appears that at least City Hall is committed to funding some part of the new stadium, as Ken Welch, the city's mayor, emphasized in a panel of fellow Tampa area mayors.