Costing Billions, MLB New Or Renovated Ballparks Will Be Most In Over 10 Years

Not since a stretch in the early 2000s will Major League Baseball see efforts to either renovate or build new ballparks, costing the public and clubs billions of dollars. The impacts will shape attendance and set the stage for league expansion that would add two additional facilities.

Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig is remembered for many things: The addition of interleague and the Wild Card. Being in place when the longest strike took out the World Series. Attempts at contracting the league from 30 clubs down to 28. But, maybe the one that gets talked about the least was what I call “Selig’s reclamation project” – a span of over a decade in which an explosion of new ballparks opened reshaping the league and fan experience while causing the highwater mark for attendance in league history. From just 2000 to 2010, 11 new ballparks opened. Billions of public dollars were invested along the way reshaping local, regional, and state policies on how much should be invested.

While other ballparks have popped up recently – Globe Life Field for the Rangers in 2020 and Truist Park in 2017 – a flurry of new or renovated ballparks has largely been missing from Rob Manfred’s tenure as commissioner. That is about to change.

Over the coming months, seven clubs in Major League Baseball will be in the throes of funding efforts or finalizing the pieces to get shovels in the ground., and that doesn’t count the Los Angeles Angels who pulled back after controversy. Two of the clubs involved, the A’s and Rays, have been working for over 20 years on new ballparks and are seen as lynchpins for possible expansion to 32 teams in the league.

Oakland A’s – New Ballpark

“Oakland” now seems to be a temporary placeholder as the club has applied to move to Las Vegas. After 57 years in what can only be described as a dilapidated Coliseum – and over 20 years of trying to get a ballpark in the market, the club is taking a bird in the hand. With the club relocating it will be the first since the Montreal Expos jumped borders to go to Washington, DC in 2004 and will be the first time a club relocated from a larger to a smaller market since the Senators moved to Texas in 1972 to become the Rangers. The current projected cost to the public is $380 million for a 30,000 seat ballpark off the Strip. Club is targeting 2028 to open the new facility.

Tampa Bay Rays – New Ballpark

The Rays have been seeking a new ballpark for nearly as long as the A’s with recent news the most optimistic on getting it done in the club’s history. The lease on the 33-year-old Tropicana Field expires in 2027 and with it, plans are to redevelop around the site for a new fixed-roof ballpark and ancillary development on 86 acres. The target for the new ballpark to open would be 2028. Cost to the public is hovering around $600 million for the $1.3 billion ballpark project. Like the A’s, ballpark capacity is projected to be somewhere around 30,000.

Milwaukee Brewers – Renovation

When the then Miller Park was financed and built, it came with considerable controversy, and it’s possible that history is still remembered as the club seeks to renovate the now American Family Field for the Milwaukee Brewers. At first, the repairs and renovation public funds were reported to be $448 million. Wisconsin Republican legislators announced a bill Monday that would devote more than $614 million in public funding to repair and renovate the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium. The current lease expires in 2030 on the 22-year-old ballpark. As has been the case in the past, most notably with the A’s who are making good on it, threats of relocation surfaced, although the league has quashed that saying it was brought up given what the A’s are doing. But, relocation threats are part and parcel with any public funding effort. After all, the Yankees once threatened to move to New Jersey, if you can believe that.

Kansas City Royals – New Ballpark

The Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium since 1973 and the ballpark was renovated 14 years ago, in 2009. Still, the club is looking downtown for a new ballpark plus an entertainment district on a 27 or 90-acre site. Total cost would be above $2 billion with the Royals pitching in $1 billion. That would put the public’s contribution at $1 billion or higher. The lease on Kauffman Stadium runs till 2031 but are looking to get into the new ballpark by 2028.

Baltimore Orioles – Upgrade

The explosion of new ballpark development during the Selig tenure really started with the Baltimore Orioles and Orioles Park At Camden Yards (OPACY). Opened in 1993, the facility began baseball-only ballparks with a retro design that harkened back to the 1940s. It is still arguably the gold standard of ballparks. But like nearly every other club on this list, the Orioles have looked to the success of the Battery development around Truist Park for the Braves. While these developments don’t offer much of any net-new revenues, it does allow the club to enjoy the fruits of fans attending baseball games without having the revenues on the baseball books. With these separate, real estate investment runs its own course and is not counted against revenue sharing. The Orioles know this and are looking for their own upgrades to the classic ballpark as well as a ballpark village. The Orioles are seeking $600 million in the effort, and have stymied Baltimore politicians by not signing a lease extension. The current lease expires on December 31 of this year. The Maryland legislature passed a bill in 2022 that would see $600 million go to the Orioles for improvements to the ballpark. That, apparently, hasn’t been acceptable to owner John Angelos who is seeking more for the ancillary development. One report shows control of the parking lots around OPACY and an additional $300 million.

Chicago White Sox – New Ballpark

If OPACY was the catalyst for new ballpark development, it wasn’t truly the first new baseball-only ballpark built under the Selig tenure. That distinction goes to the Chicago White Sox who opened what was then new Comiskey Park in April of 1991, or as it is now named, Guaranteed Rates Field. Now, owner Jerry Reinsdorf is looking for a new ballpark when the current lease expires with the Illinois Sports Facility Authority in 2029. No discussions have taken place. No one knows how much the White Sox are pitching in or what else they are seeking. They have said vaguely that they could relocate in the Chicago area. As Reinsdorf did prior to getting new Comisky built, they have quietly used Nashville as leverage to get it all accomplished.

Arizona Diamondbacks – New Or Renovation

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been mired in talks around either the maintenance of Chase Field, renovating it, or getting a new ballpark built for nearly a decade. With the lease on the facility expiring in 2027, the Diamondbacks continue to work toward something more than nothing. Commissioner Rob Manfred weighed in this summer saying, “Whenever you get near the end of a lease, you get yourself into a situation where what I regard to be public assets — right, a stadium is a public asset — there’s going to need to be updating.” Again, like the White Sox the cost is still TBD, although public inventment would be in the “hundreds of millions.” And again, like the others on this list, an entertainment district is being sought. “It’s not just about the ballpark,” said team CEO Derrick Hall. “It’s about having retail and hotel and office space. We want to see what the opportunities are here or anywhere else so that we can activate 365 days a year.”