Oldsmar appears to be out of the running as a stadium option for the Tampa Bay Rays.
- Oldsmar out of running for potential Rays stadium site
- Rays say they hope to pick a stadium site by the end of the year
- Previous stories on Rays stadium search
City officials said Wednesday the baseball team would not be moving there.
The city was potentially interested in building a stadium across from Tampa Bay Downs that would have included shops, restaurants, hotel and office space.
During a city council meeting, member Eric Seidel said the council would not be going forward with the idea. Still, Mayor Doug Bevis said a deal is not completely dead as Rays officials are still months away from any decision.
The team has not commented.
The Oldsmar site is 120 acres located near the Tampa Bay Downs racetrack and has one landowner. The city released renderings of what a new stadium along with retail, office and residential development would look like on the property, last October.
Then there's also the option of staying put on the 85 acres of publicly-owned land that the stadium currently sits on. It's the possibility that the group Baseball Forever is standing by as they fight for the Rays to stay where they have been all along, in St. Petersburg.
By opening day 2018, the team expects to have a site selected for the next ballpark and - possibly - stadium funding specifics.