The Tampa Bay Rays have a vision for a new home in St. Petersburg.

The team, which has lived with an uncertain stadium future for years, released details and renderings of a proposed new home east of their current stadium, Tropicana Field. 

• The proposal, developed with architecture firm Populous, calls for a fixed roof that can let in diffused light, large glass side windows which could be opened and closed, and a turf field.
• The roughly 30,000-capacity venue with no upper deck seating would likely cost more than $1 billion.
• Pending approvals, the Rays could move to the new stadium in 2028, after their lease at Tropicana expires the previous year. 

The team is working with real estate firm Hines, who developed the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park. 

More Than a Stadium

The Rays’ proposal follows the recent trend of making a sports venue the centerpiece of a new housing and retail area in the Historic Gas Plant District.

The team would like to build 5,700 multi-family units, 1.4 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail, 700 hotel rooms, 600 senior living residences, and a 2,500 capacity entertainment venue.

The Rays previously pursued a unique arrangement that would have had them split home games between St. Petersburg or Tampa and Montreal, but Major League Baseball quashed that plan. 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed confidence in October that the team will remain in the region.

American sportsbooks are the latest destination to watch NFL games — furthering the bond between sports betting and live media rights.

“Sunday Night Football” — a 54-19 blowout win for the Dallas Cowboys over the Indianapolis Colts — was livestreamed on the Caesars Sportsbook app via its “Watch & Bet” feature. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S.

Caesars collaborated with Genius Sports — an official NFL partner, and exclusive distributor of official NFL data and live video streams to sportsbooks — to make the new augmented live stream happen.

• Users of the Caesars app are able to place in-game wagers alongside live low-latency NFL video streams as part of “Watch & Bet.”
• Caesars is utilizing official NFL league and team marks to help promote live premium content.
• Sunday’s game is the first of five to appear in the app this season, per ESPN.

“Delivering innovative technology like this remains a key emphasis for us, so being the first U.S. sportsbook to provide customers with in-app NFL livestreaming isn’t something we take lightly,” said Eric Hession, president of Caesars Digital .

Getting Comfortable

Livestreaming on a sportsbook app is just another sign of the NFL’s growing comfort with the emerging sports betting industry.

In June, the league appointed its first-ever vice president and general manager of sports betting.

Through three quarters, the American sports betting industry has already set a yearly revenue record ($4.78 billion).

A club in England’s second-highest level of professional soccer no longer has a home. 

Coventry City FC has received an eviction notice from the new owners of Coventry Building Society Arena, which has been the team’s home since 2005. The Sky Blues, members of the English Football League Championship, were asked to leave after it refused a “less favorable” lease offer from Frasers Group.  

Frasers Group — a British retail and sports company owned by former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley — took over the lease at CBS Arena in November for $21 million. The transaction included the business and assets of the stadium’s operators Arena Coventry Limited, Arena Coventry (2006), and IEC Experience Limited. 

• Coventry City is owned by London-based investment firm SISU Capital Ltd.
• The club has an existing license to play at CBS Arena through 2031.
• CBS Arena, capacity of 32,600, previously hosted Olympic events.
• The Sky Blues are scheduled to play Swansea AFC at home on Dec. 17. 

The English Football League Championship is the highest division of the English Football League and is second overall in the English football league system, following the Premier League.

New Club Owner 

In November, SISU agreed to sell an 85% stake in Coventry City to Yelo Enterprises CEO Doug King for an undisclosed amount. The deal will clear all debt for the club. King attempted to delay court proceedings for Frasers Group’s lease purchase but was unsuccessful.

King had planned to submit a $30.4 million counteroffer.