Miami Marlins rivals could be leaving Florida

I made a suggestion a while back, as to how the Miami Marlins could both make more income and help the team's Florida neighbors and rivals: the Tampa Bay Rays. It seems that the situation is a bit different now. Would it make sense for The Fish to remain the only team in Florida? Could The Fish ever become the "Florida Marlins" again? The name under which the team won the last World Series in franchise history?

The Miami Marlins could end up being the only Florida team in the Majors.

Would it benefit the Miami Marlins to be the only Florida team again? That was the case from 1993 to 1997, before the Tampa Bay Devil Rays debute din the 1998 season. The latter eventually changed their name to the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2008 season, and followed that up with two pennants. One that season and then another one in 2020. Of course, The Fish won two World Series. The first in 1997 and the second in 2003. Both also including the only two pennants in team history.

Hurricane Milton has severely damaged the Rays' stadium Tropicana Field, and it doesn't look like the team will be able to play there in 2025. It was announced that the team could play at George Steinbrenner Field in 2025, then eventually the Rays could play in a new stadium in Tampa for the 2028 season. It now looks like that situation is no longer as certain as once thought.

It turns out, that the city has to vote on certain financial bonds that were needed to secure financing for the new stadium. Now, due to the hurricane, the timeline has changed and the vote may not happen until later on. The vote will now take place after the election and may include different board members. Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg had this to say:

"Last month, the County Commission upended our ballpark agreement by not approving their bonds, as they promised to do. That action sent a clear message that we had lost the county as a partner. The future of baseball in Tampa Bay became less certain after that vote.”

Time will tell whether the Miami Marlins will be the only Major League team left in Florida.