TAMPA -- A new era of baseball in Tampa Bay has begun.
An ownership group led by executive Patrick Zalupski officially closed on the purchase of the Rays on Tuesday, the team announced. Major League Baseball’s owners voted unanimously last week to approve the incoming ownership group, the third in franchise history following original owner Vince Naimoli and outgoing principal owner Stuart Sternberg.
“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We are especially privileged to have been chosen by Stu Sternberg as his successors, and we’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game.
“I want to sincerely thank Commissioner Rob Manfred and the entire Major League Baseball community for their trust and support throughout this process. We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”
Zalupski will serve as the group’s MLB control person and the Rays’ co-chair. He will be joined at the executive level of the ownership group by co-chair Bill Cosgrove and chief executive officer Ken Babby.
Babby will oversee the club’s day-to-day business operations. President of baseball operations Erik Neander will remain in his current role as the team’s top-ranking baseball executive.
“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.
“I have known Stu Sternberg for over two decades and I will always appreciate his love of the game. I thank Stu for his dedication towards putting a winning team on the field and his valuable contributions to the baseball industry while serving on many committees during his time as the principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays.”
The purchase price was not disclosed, but reports estimate the sale was for approximately $1.7 billion.
There is a news conference with the new owners scheduled for Oct. 7. The first and most pressing challenge facing Zalupski’s group is the one that stumped Sternberg and ultimately led him to sell the team after two decades in charge: finding a long-term home for the Rays in the Tampa Bay area.
There is some time to resolve that issue, but the clock is ticking. While Tropicana Field was unavailable this year due to damage caused by Hurricane Milton, forcing the team to spend this season at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Rays are set to return to their repaired dome next year. The club’s existing use agreement with St. Petersburg runs through the end of the 2028 season.
Zalupski, 44, is the founder, president and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a home builder based in Jacksonville, Fla. A graduate of Stetson University, Zalupski now also serves on the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees, having been appointed to that role by Governor Ron DeSantis. He was previously a financial auditor for FedEx Corporation’s Internal Audit Department and worked in real estate as managing partner of Bay Street Condominiums, LLC from 2006-08.
Cosgrove is the CEO of Union Home Mortgage. Babby is the founder of the Fast Forward Sports Group and the owner of two Minor League teams: the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks.
“Baseball has always been a part of my life, and now I get to join an ownership group for a team I’ve admired for years,” Cosgrove said in a statement. “It’s humbling, and I can’t wait to share this journey with the fans and the Tampa Bay community.”
“Baseball is about joy, connection, and community. I’ve seen firsthand how a ballpark can bring people together, and I’m honored to help create those moments paired with a continued culture of winning here in Tampa Bay,” added Babby. “We’re committed to delivering an exceptional fan experience while continuing the Rays tradition of excellence, and we can’t wait for Opening Day April 6 in re-opened Tropicana Field, and celebrating the community’s resiliency.”
According to the team, Zalupski and Cosgrove will establish an executive advisory board with select investors from a broader ownership group, including Dr. Rick Workman, Doug Hertz, Will Weatherford, Robert Skinner, Dan Doyle Jr. and outgoing team president Matt Silverman, who will represent the interests of Sternberg and his partners as they maintain a minority stake in the team.
Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, will serve as an independent member of the executive advisory board. The Rays said there will also be a “robust group of limited partners with deep connections to the Tampa Bay region” joining the ownership team, with specifics to be announced “in the near future.”
As part of the deal, Zalupski’s group also acquired the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a USL Championship league soccer team.
Sternberg came to Tampa Bay as a general partner in 2004 and became the club’s principal owner in October 2005. He quickly hired Silverman as team president, appointed Andrew Friedman to run his baseball operations department and hired Joe Maddon as manager.
Former Rays executives can now be found in high-ranking positions throughout baseball, and many coaches under Maddon and Kevin Cash -- the longest-tenured manager in the Majors -- have gone on to land managerial jobs.
Sternberg rebranded the club from the Devil Rays to the Rays in 2008, and since that season, the Rays have put together the third-best record in the Majors while making nine trips to the postseason and two appearances in the World Series.
“As we look ahead, there's still some sizable, significant steps that we still want to take. Certainly from a baseball standpoint, it's winning a championship,” Neander said last weekend. “And by all accounts, it feels like these are people that are going to come in and be just as committed to that as we are.”