After years of rumors and strenuous negotiations, it appears the Tampa Bay Rays are finally getting a new stadium. The team is expected to make an official announcement Tuesday on a new stadium to be built not far from the current Tropicana Field site.

The stadium is expected to have a fixed dome roof and cost more than $1.2 billion to build, according to Marc Topkin. It will seat about 30,000 fans and is set to open for the 2028 MLB season.

The Rays have played their home games at Tropicana Field since the franchise's inception in 1998. Tampa Bay has consistently had one of the worst attendance records in the league, despite being a contender in recent years with multiple trips to the postseason.

The Rays rank 27th in average attendance this season, up from 28th last season out of 30 teams. Tampa Bay averaged a tick under 14,000 fans at Tropicana Field last season, with an increase to about 18,000 per game in 2023.

The Rays are playing into that low attendance factor by building a smaller-capacity stadium. Cleveland's Progressive Field and Tropicana are the only current stadiums with less than a 35,000-seat capacity.

This should bring an end to any speculation that the Rays were/are going to relocate. Major League Baseball hasn’t been shy in expressing its desire to freshen things up, whether it be through expansion or relocating a current franchise. The Rays and Oakland Athletics were the two leading candidates if the league decided to relocate, with the A's already gearing up for a move to Las Vegas.

The Rays are staying put in Tampa though, which will be a joy for diehard fans. Tampa Bay clinched its fifth consecutive playoff berth on Sunday.