Tampa Bay Rays Owner Discussing Moving Franchise To Montreal

The Tampa Bay Rays are in the midst of a franchise-altering offseason after losing general manager Andrew Friedman to the Los Angeles Dodgers and manager Joe Maddon opting out of his contract last week and now fans of the MLB team could lose its team to Montreal

This offseason could be one that forever shakes up the Tampa Bay Rays after losing general manager and architect of their dramatic turnaround from perennial cellar dweller to the World Series in 2008 and two-time American League Manager of the Year Joe Maddon who opted out of his contract last week.

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As if that wasn’t enough to drastically shakeup the fortunes of the franchise Rays owner Stu Sternberg is discussing his options to move the team out of Tampa Bay and north of the border to Montreal.

According to the NY Daily News, Sternberg has grown frustrated as his efforts to get move out of Tropicana Field have gone nowhere and there is a growing belief that the organization’s fans won’t support the team even if they are successful in building a new stadium.

"“Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has been frustrated in his efforts to get out of Tropicana Field in St. Pete and move to a new stadium in Tampa, but there is growing belief that the economically depressed Tampa Bay area won’t support the Rays no matter where they play. And according to sources, Sternberg has had discussions with wealthy Wall Street associates about moving the Rays to Montreal, which has been without a major-league franchise since the Expos were transferred to Washington in 2005.”"

This could be one of the reasons Maddon cited when he opted out of his contract and concerns over the future of the franchise and where their home games would be played would certainly play a role in his desire to seek employment elsewhere. This also isn’t the first time an owner of a professional sports franchise has threatened to move if a new stadium isn’t built, but considering the lack of interest in Tampa and south florida, would anyone notice his veiled threat?

Prior to the Montreal Expos relocating to Washington and becoming the Nationals, the team averaged fewer than one million fans per season in six of their final seven seasons in Olympic Stadium.

The Rays have only had one year, their first year of existence, when they drew more than 2 million fans.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in the midst of a franchise-altering offseason after losing general manager Andrew Friedman to the Los Angeles Dodgers and manager Joe Maddon opting out of his contract last week and now fans of the MLB team could lose its team to Montreal

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