Akron RubberDucks owner Ken Babby is taking a swing at the big leagues.
Babby, owner of the Double-A RubberDucks and the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, is part of an ownership group negotiating exclusively to by the Tampa Bay Rays for $1.7 billion, first reported website Front Office Sports.
The state of the Major League Baseball team has been in disarray since current team owner Stu Sternberg pulled out of a deal with St. Petersburgh government officials to build a new stadium to replace, Tropicana Field, a plan that went south. The stadium sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Milton last year.
Babby isn’t the only investor with Northeast Ohio ties as Bill Cosgrove, CEO of area-based Union Mortgage is part of the group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski.
The latest sports team valuations from Forbes values the Rays at $1.25 billion. The team is expected to remain in the Tampa area, according to reports.
Babby bought the then-Akron Aeros in 2012.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ken Babby, Akron RubberDucks owner, part of Tampa Bay Rays potential owners group: Report
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
