MIAMI (AP) — On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida local authorities revealed a preliminary $2.3 billion pact for a new stadium that would be financed through both public and private funding sources.
The preliminary memorandum of understanding between the Rays, Hillsborough County, and Tampa city officials details stadium expenses that would involve $967 million in public tax funding. City and county elected representatives are scheduled to consider the proposal during separate sessions next week.
“The Rays respectfully but resolutely encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a Forever Home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood that will be an inviting and inclusive destination to work, live, learn, and play,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the team’s ownership struck a deal with Hillsborough College to construct the ballpark and a mixed-use entertainment complex on the college grounds while also upgrading some college facilities. The site sits adjacent to the New York Yankees’ spring training complex and opposite a major roadway from Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play.
Team officials have expressed hopes to complete the new ballpark construction within three years.
The Rays have called Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg home since beginning play in 1998, though they temporarily relocated home games to the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field in 2025 after hurricane damage affected the Trop. Their current lease extends through the 2028 season at minimum. The team resumed playing at the Trop last month when this season began.
Last year, a proposed $1.3 billion renovation project for a new stadium near the Trop collapsed, creating uncertainty about the franchise’s future after Patrick Zalupski’s ownership group purchased the team in September.
