Proposed Ybor City site may no longer work for Tampa Bay Rays stadium: report

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The latest proposal for the Tampa Bay Rays to relocate to a Ybor City location may be in jeopardy.  

The issue is for the proposed site at the former Kforce property -- If the team wants a retractable roof it would need to be a bigger stadium, that might be too big for the historic standards, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.  

The Rays want to relocate somewhere in the Tampa Bay region when their lease is up at Tropicana Field in 2027.

The MLB said no to a split season, dual-city concept with Montreal, bringing a retractable roof back in play for Florida’s rainy season.    

The roof will cost a lot more, making the structure taller. Building at the former force property would require approval from the Barrio Latino Commission.

Mayor Jane Castor said Monday she’s confident everyone can come to some sort of agreement.  

Nearly two weeks ago MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said it's time for this decades-long stadium saga to come to an end.  

"There needs to be a resolution in the Tampa Bay Region for the Rays," Manfred told reporters. "Obviously, the end of that lease is a hard deadline, but you need to take into account that stadiums take a little bit of time to build."

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch gave an end-of-June deadline for deciding the future of the land Tropicana Field sits on.  Welch has also said he wants answers from the Rays before he decides.