As the Tampa Bay Rays plan for the future, is there reason to hope the Sister City plan will work? History says no

As the Tampa Bay Rays came off a 100-win season and undertook a run at a second consecutive World Series, much of the attention in recent weeks had been on the team’s future in the region. Thanks in large part to some poorly timed plans and PR missteps from ownership, the talk locally — and nationally — before the team began its playoff run was dominated by where it will play in 2028 rather than if they could beat the Boston Red Sox in the first round. 

The reason for this is a push by corporate stewards to sell the community on its plan to split time between Tampa Bay and Montreal, building new stadiums in each city and playing the first half the season in Tampa or St. Petersburg and the second half in Montreal. Meanwhile, local fans and officials unhappy with the plan are hoping a stadium deal can be worked out here and that the team will keep either Tampa or St. Petersburg its permanent — full time — home.