Before the Rays: The Expansion Decision That Stung

On June 10, 1991, baseball fans across the Tampa Bay region received disappointing news. After months of anticipation, Major League Baseball announced that Miami and Denver had been selected as the league’s newest expansion cities, leaving St. Petersburg without the franchise it had worked so hard to attract.

The decision came as a surprise to many local supporters. St. Petersburg had already built the Florida Suncoast Dome, later known as the ThunderDome and Tropicana Field, largely to demonstrate that the city was ready for Major League Baseball. The area also had a long history of hosting spring training, strengthening its case as a baseball market.

Miami’s successful bid was backed by businessman H. Wayne Huizenga, whose ownership group helped secure one of the two expansion franchises. The team began play in 1993 as the Florida Marlins, a name chosen to appeal to fans across the state.

While the decision was a setback, it was not the end of Tampa Bay’s baseball dreams. Four years later, on March 9, 1995, Major League Baseball awarded an expansion franchise to the region. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took the field in 1998, finally bringing Major League Baseball to St. Petersburg and fulfilling a goal years in the making.