'Forever starts now': Rays' new ballpark approved in county vote
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TAMPA -- The Rays’ new ownership group introduced themselves with a promise. Sitting inside George M. Steinbrenner Field between co-chair Bill Cosgrove and chief executive officer Ken Babby early last October, managing partner Patrick Zalupski made the top item on their to-do list clear.
Finding a long-term ballpark in the Tampa Bay area, Zalupski said, would be their “first and highest priority.”
“It's going to be challenging,” Zalupski said during the group’s introductory news conference, “but we're confident that we can be successful here in Tampa Bay.”
Nearly 11 months later, the deal is done. After passing with a 4-3 vote by the Tampa City Council on Thursday, the Rays’ agreement for a “Forever Home” ballpark on the site of Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus in Tampa was approved with a 5-2 vote by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on Friday.
Now, with city and county approval in hand, the Rays can proceed to the community benefits agreement process and begin bond/funding validation before hosting a groundbreaking ceremony that Tampa Bay’s fans have been waiting two decades to witness.
Then, if everything goes according to plan, they can start making plans for Opening Day 2029.
"We are incredibly grateful to everyone who invested their time, energy, ideas and trust in getting us to this moment," Zalupski said in a statement. "We recognize there is still important work ahead, and we look forward to continued collaboration to deliver on the promise of this transformational project.
"Today is an incredible day for Tampa Bay. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible. Forever starts now."
The Rays’ use agreement at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg is set to expire after the 2028 season. Now, they know where they’ll be playing after that.
The ballpark and surrounding development -- built around the concept of “work, live, learn, play” -- will be located along Dale Mabry Highway, across the street from the Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium and adjacent to the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field. It’s in the heart of the Tampa Bay region: closer to a higher percentage of the local population, near Tampa International Airport and only a few miles from downtown Tampa.
“The Tampa Bay Rays enthusiastically thank and applaud the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners for making history," Babby said in a statement.
"By virtue of its approval of a county investment in partnership with the Rays and the city of Tampa, today our entire region can celebrate the coming of a privately financed and mixed-use neighborhood, a reinvented Hillsborough College campus, and a new ballpark that secures the long-term future of Major League Baseball here in Tampa Bay."
County Commissioners Ken Hagan, Harry Cohen, Gwen Myers, Christine Miller and Chris Boles voted in favor of the Rays’ proposal. Donna Cameron Cepeda and Joshua Wostal voted against the deal. It’s a significant investment for the county, which will cover $796 million of the ballpark’s projected $2.36 billion cost. Most of that will come from the county’s Community Investment Tax (roughly $360 million) and Tourist Development Tax money (approximately $303 million).
The city of Tampa’s contribution is $80 million, and the Rays are set to invest approximately $1.37 billion plus all cost overruns. The club is also expected to privately finance the surrounding mixed-use district.
The fixed-roof stadium -- which will have a minimum of 28,000 seats, according to the definitive documents outlining the deal -- will be owned by Hillsborough County, with the Rays paying $4 million annually in rent. The initial term of the use agreement, which includes a non-relocation agreement, is for 35 years.
As part of the project, the district will include a revamped and modernized campus for Hillsborough College. The Rays have also touted the ballpark’s availability for non-baseball events, as well as the broader development’s potential to create a destination for businesses, hospitality and entertainment -- Tampa’s version of The Battery Atlanta.
Considering how long the club’s stadium saga has been going on, it might feel like this came together quickly.
It was only last September that the Zalupski-led group officially assumed control of the franchise after purchasing it from former principal owner Stuart Sternberg. After overseeing multiple unsuccessful attempts to secure the Rays’ long-term ballpark, the last of which they pulled out of after receiving government approval, Sternberg said he sold the club to the group that “gave it the best opportunity to keep this team in Tampa Bay.”
In January, the Rays identified their preferred location and entered into a non-binding partnership with Hillsborough College. With support from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, they began sharing exterior and interior renderings of the ballpark and crafted a memorandum of understanding outlining the framework of a deal that allowed negotiations to move forward with the city and county.