Tampa Bay Rays– Now that the Rays at least have fan support, they are trying to build what looks like a beautiful ballpark out on the water. The Rays have pledged 450 million dollars to the 85 acre site where spring training facility Al Lang Field is located. That was in 2007. The Rays have dropped their pland to finish it by 2012, but they are still working to it. Possibly if they make enough money after the 2010 season, they will be able to afford to work more on it. Note: The stadium is outdoor, count one less domed stadium in baseball.

                          

 to see a video on some picture of the possible ballpark, go to  http://www2.tbo.com/static/special-reports-sports/rays-new-stadium/

 

Oakland Athletics– This stadium plan has been ongoing, and the A’s and MLB have talked about it. The big thing is the A’s have been given little to no support frm the city of Oakland. The A’s are trying to get permission to build Cisco Field, but there has been no agreements. There even has been talk that the A’s have been considering moving to a place like San Jose. One major reason the A’s want to move is because they have to share their ballpark with the Oakland Raiders, and it gets stressful in September. But if the A’s do complete Cisco Field, this is what it would look like.

                    

 

Florida Marlins– I have talked briefly about the Marlins new plans earlier (See The Florida Marlins Building A Young Team), but now I can go into depth on it. This ballpark has a much better chance of opening than the Rays and Athletics, being scheduled to open in 201. Acutally if you go to the Marlins “New Ballpark Index” on their website there is a countdown of when the ballpark will be finished. As of right now (3:14 pm 1/30/2010) the ballpark will be finished in 791 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes and 30 seconds. The ballpark will be constructed on 17 of the 42 acres of the Orange Bowl Site in Miami. The park will have a retractable roof, over 37,000 seats, 3,000 club suties and 60 private suites. To see a video on what the final stadium will look like, go to http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5930231.

              

 

Minnesota Twins– Most, if not all of you, know that the Twins are leaving the Metrodome and will be playing baseball at Target Field in 2010. The last major league baseball game held in the Metrodome was when the Yankees beat the Twins 4-1 and moved on to the American League Championship Series, sending the Twins out of the Metrodome. One reason that the Twins decided to move was because like the A’s, it is difficult to share a stadium with the Minnesota Vikings in September. Target Field is an outdoor ballpark, so expect a few snow delays in April. The two stadiums are very different. Target Field has shorter demensions than the Metrodome everywhere except the left field corner, where Target Field is 328 feet compared to the Metrodomes 327, and left center where both is 367 feet. The Metrodome can hold 15,300 more seats than Target Field, and at Target Field the field-level seats are closer to the action than at the Metrodome, where there is more goul territory. Here is a picture of Target Field-

 

So these are the upcoming ballparks in baseball. But theMarlins and the Twins’ ballparks are the only ones that are certain to open, while the Rays and A’s are still trying to get acceptance.