Tampa Bay/Montreal Rays
 

So how do we incorporate this into the game? Lol!

I have no idea.

This is still quite a few years from being reality, so I don't think it's anything to worry about right now. Plus, it's at least partially an attempt to put pressure on the Tampa community to fund a new stadium to keep the team there permanently, so it may not even become reality.

I requested in the past for a neutral site option in the schedule editor so it will be interesting too see what happens if this does happen and what happens within the OOTP game.

Here's what should happen:

1. Move the Rays to Montreal to become the new Expos.
2. Have an agreement with the Nationals to take back their own history.
3. Move the Expos back to the NL, shuffling the Brewers back to the AL (lol).
4. Adjust divisions accordingly. I guess the Expos could stay in the NL Central, maybe the Indians move to the AL East to accommodate the Brewers.

and since we will now have two harmonious 16 team subleagues interleague play will be done away with! yeah right.

The tigers should move back to the east, as they moved to the central to accommodate the rays to begin with; also existing rivalries with Boston and new York

Rather just see them expand by 2 teams, get to a 32 team league, and the new teams in Montreal and XXX just go into each league. Whether you throw Montreal back in the NL (where their historical rivalries lie) or in the AL (to play more against the Jays/Yankees/Red Sox who would be their closest geographical rivals), I don't really care.

No.

I'm guessing that this is mostly away of applying leverage to the city. Probably also a test to gauge the sustainability of a new franchise in Montreal. If they can't get a stadium deal than move them to Montreal permanently. Then later expand to Portland and either Carolina or Nashville.

:( But I want contraction instead. Then we can have the option in OOTP to contract.

You won't have to consider it. This is just another idea Sternberg is floating trying to manipulate the Tampa Bay area governments. Into what who knows.

A big problem is the former St Pete city council and mayor. They tried to save the Rays for St Pete and then for the Tampa Bay area (for which they have no responsibility) when a reasonably perceptive person could determine Sternberg wanted to leave town.

Sternberg is going to wait until the Tropicana lease expires and then leave town. No matter what he says/does in the meantime. The half season in a cheaper open stadium is BS. All you have is April and May, not a half season. Starting June it rains almost every evening. and who would go to day game with a sun load index of 12?

If anyone gets to move back to the NL, it should be the Astros.

Really doubt this bright idea will ever come to pass. Not sure what the point is, other than to try and extort Tampa to build them a new stadium (good luck!). Maybe to see what it would be like to play in front of 15,000 in 2 different countries??

This absurdity will never happen. The MLBPA won't allow it. The City of St. Pete won't allow it. And Sternberg wasn't serious anyway. Just a ploy to increase pressure. The reality is that franchise is doomed. Here is why:

Vince Namioli: The clubs founder was a meddlesome cheapskate that did little to endear himself or his club to the Bay area. He did not rise to near the level of sheer malice Marlins fans got to experience with Jeffery Loria but those two were close. His tenure was marked with bad teams, bad decisions and bad fan service. What begins in misery tends to end there.

The Bay Area: The Tampa Bay area is a mid sized market by MLB standards. It's made up of three cities, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Bradenton. Combined they are the fourteenth largest market in the MLB. The problem is you can't combine them. There is a body of water only slightly smaller than New York City separating all three of them from each other. That means you really need to look at each city individually. The Rays are in St. Pete with about 260k people. That makes them last in the MLB. Dead last by a long bloody way. Worse still the average age of the citizens of St. Pete is 47 years. It's a city with a large population of retirees. Unfortunately that means such industry it has is largely service based. Which means lower income. $45k per year is the avg in 2017. It's expensive to live there so disposable income for luxuries like baseball tickets is a problem. St. Pete cannot support a MLB team. Period.

Across the bay to the east is Tampa. Population is over 1M as of 2015. Average age is 36. Avg income $51k. There is a slightly better corporate community, a large Air Force Base, thee Universities, and lower cost of living. Just one problem, there is no money to build a stadium. Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa can't help much. Not won't... can't. It's ironic. St Pete can help the Rays build a stadium where they will continue to struggle. They could thrive in Tampa but it can't happen.Here's why:

The Tampa Bay Lighting and Buccaneers both are playing in relatively new facilities that were mostly publicly funded. And not totally paid for. Plus both teams are very popular and present a challenge to the Rays in getting leisure dollars from a populace that still has limited disposable income. It's cheaper to live east of the bay but brother, this is still Florida. It ain't cheap! Which brings us to the last problem:

Economics: At an avg income of $51k the Tampa/Hillsborough market is 26th in the MLB. Ahead of just Cleveland, Miami, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. It has a higher cost of living than all of those save Miami. Tampa is also home to Busch Gardens and a short drive from Orlando with all of it's distractions. The Rays would be trying to break into a well saturated market with many alternatives to fight with for a lower than league average disposable income.

So, the Rays are doomed in Tampa Bay and all that is why. They will keep on until 2027, impressing us with innovation and confounding sports prognosticators sometimes. But there is no escaping the reality of their situation. What begins in misery tends to end in misery.

Controversial opinion: build the stadium in Palmetto/Ellenton area. Close to st Pete, closer to Tampa, view the skyway bridge without staring into the sunset. Build an alternate route from i4. Everyone wins

Sounds good, if the Rays pay for it as they should.

I'd love to see an option in OOTP for split team homes :D

My understanding is it has been proposed for next season.

From https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/rays-t...l-split-season


Also it's important to note that MLB gave them permission to EXPLORE the move, it did not give them permission to actually do it.

I don't think it will happen, but if it did... where would they play post-season games? lol