Rays Formally Ask Tampa Bay Mayor if Team Can Explore Deal With Montreal

It looks like the Tampa Bay Rays are one step closer to making a huge organizational move.

This past summer, the Rays expressed their desire to explore splitting their home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal. However, they had yet to formally ask Tampa Bay Mayor Rick Kriseman. They apparently waited until the offseason to do so.

The Rays have a binding contract that states they must play all of their home games at Tropicana Field through 2027, which is when the lease ends. The team is even prohibited from negotiating to play elsewhere during that time, which means the city would have to approve any potential move.

Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg already has a concrete plan in place, as he looks to have the team play baseball in Tampa Bay during the spring, and then transition to Montreal for its summer games.

For now, nothing is set in stone, as Sternberg has only asked Kriseman about a potential move during meetings. Regardless, Sternberg is clearly looking to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.

The Rays have had notoriously low home attendance for quite some time. It makes sense for them to consider a temporary move to a new home that perhaps could become permanent in the future.

We're just going to have to wait and see if Kriseman would be willing to let the Rays leave so easily.