re: Spinoff - Which MLB teams actually need a new stadium?

Toronto is fine. Maybe they could renovate to get some seats closer to the field, especially in that cavernous outfield.

Tampa sucks. They built it to try to lure a team for the 1993 expansion.

Oakland is trash, but part of it is stuff that could be fixed from renovation. Their interior is hideous and the food selection is the worst I have ever seen, and that includes minor league parks.

I think Wrigley and Fenway would be rebuilt on the exact same tract of land if they had to be rebuilt. The Cubs would pay a nice sum to use The Cell while Wrigley is rebuilt.

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Oakland is trash, but part of it is stuff that could be fixed from renovation. Their interior is hideous and the food selection is the worst I have ever seen, and that includes minor league parks.

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Mt. Davis should never have been built.

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Over $500 million over the course of four offseasons. All privately financed.

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I never can remember, does this include the hotel they're building, or is the 500m just related to the ball park.

TBH I think only Tampa and Oakland need new stadiums, excluding old stadiums with historical significance (Fenway, Wrigley, Dodger Stadium, etc.)Those places should just be renovated and improved, not replaced. As a baseball fan it was sad to see the house that Ruth built bulldozed for that shopping mall they have now

Pretty sure it includes the adjacent development, stadium reno, clubhouse etc. And as always with major construction projects, I'm sure the costs will be much higher than the original projection, which if I'm not mistaken was $575M

Pretty sure Tropicana was built in or around 1990. The San Francisco Giants nearly moved to Tampa in '92

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Pretty sure Tropicana was built in or around 1990. The San Francisco Giants nearly moved to Tampa in '92

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Incorrect

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After Tampa was awarded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1970s, St. Petersburg decided it wanted a share of the professional sports scene in Tampa Bay. It was decided early on that the city would attempt to attract Major League Baseball. Possible designs for a baseball park or multi-purpose stadium were proposed as early as 1983. One such design, in the same location where Tropicana Field would ultimately be built, called for an open-air stadium with a circus tent-like covering. It took several design cues from Kauffman Stadium, including fountains beyond the outfield wall.[13]

Ultimately, it was decided that a stadium with a fixed permanent dome was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. Ballpark construction began in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the facility.

The stadium, built originally as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was first used in an attempt to entice the Chicago White Sox to relocate if a new ballpark were not built to replace the aging Comiskey Park. The governments of Chicago and Illinois eventually agreed to build a new Comiskey Park in 1989.

The stadium was finished in 1990. It hosted the 1990 Davis Cup Finals that autumn, as well as several rock concerts, but still had no tenants. The venue helped make St. Petersburg a finalist in the MLB expansion for 1993, but it lost out to Miami and Denver. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners moving in the early part of the 1990s, and the San Francisco Giants came close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors even announcing they were, in a press conference in 1992. However, the sale was blocked by National League owners, who voted against the sale and move in November 1992[14] under pressure from San Francisco officials and the then-owner of the Florida Marlins, Blockbuster Video Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga.[15] A local boycott of Blockbuster Video stores occurred for several years thereafter.[16]

The Suncoast Dome finally got a regular tenant in 1991, when the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm made its debut. Two years later, the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning made the stadium its home for three seasons. In the process, the Suncoast Dome was renamed the Thunderdome. Because of the large capacity of what was basically a park built for baseball, several NHL and AFL attendance records were set during their times there.[17][18]

The World of Outlaws Sprint Cars raced at the Suncoast Dome on February 7–9, 1992 as a part of Florida Speedweeks with several tracks hosting events during the month.[19]

Finally, in 1995, the dome received a baseball team when MLB expanded to the Tampa Bay area.

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LINK

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Pretty sure Tropicana was built in or around 1990. The San Francisco Giants nearly moved to Tampa in '92

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Incorrect

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I like how you say "Incorrect" then link to information showing that what he said was indeed correct.

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The stadium was finished in 1990. It hosted the 1990 Davis Cup Finals that autumn, as well as several rock concerts, but still had no tenants. The venue helped make St. Petersburg a finalist in the MLB expansion for 1993, but it lost out to Miami and Denver. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners moving in the early part of the 1990s, and the San Francisco Giants came close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors even announcing they were, in a press conference in 1992.

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Seems like the Angels would get one here soon. 3rd or 4th oldest stadium in the game. I know it was renovated, but that was almost 20 years ago

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Speaking of this, does anyone know how the Wrigley renovations went? Curious what to expect.