Years before Tampa Bay got the Devil Rays, the city was used by several Major League Teams to shake down their cities for renovations or a new ballpark. The Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and San Francisco Giants all threatened moves to the West Coast of Florida.

Once they got what they wanted, they decided to stay put, leaving Tampa without a Major League team. After the White Sox got a new stadium in the Windy City, Tampa officials decided to build a ballpark that could be used to attract a team quicker or an expansion team.

In 1991 even expansion passed Tampa by, as MLB hierarchy thought teams in Miami and Denver were more feasible. Tampa Bay was not deterred after flirting with Mariners and Rangers.

It seemed almost inevitable that Tampa was going to be home of the Giants in 1993. Vincent J.

Naimoli had agreed to purchase and move the Giants to Tampa in 1993. However, MLB did not approve of the move, and arranged it for George Schinn to but and keep the Giants in San Francisco.

Naimoli was all about to sue baseball, but after being promised an expansion team backed off and waited patiently. In 1995 amid an awful player's strike, MLB owner unanimously approved Tampa Bay and Phoenix for expansion teams to begin to play in 1998.