Florida will provide land it owns in Hillsborough County to help the Tampa Bay Rays develop a new stadium, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Feb. 3.
It’s a major step in a long-running saga as the Rays have attempted to find a new stadium for more than a decade. But a final deal is far from certain, and many details still need to be negotiated between the Rays and the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
Still, DeSantis, who played youth baseball in nearby Dunedin and for Yale in college, said he’s hopeful the move will help cement Major League Baseball in the Tampa region.
“Baseball belongs in Tampa Bay. Baseball can succeed in Tampa Bay,” DeSantis said.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was on hand for the announcement and echoed those sentiments, insisting the league is committed to Tampa Bay. He called the move a “milestone along the path that I believe will lead to the Rays being part of the community for decades to come.”
Tampa Bay stadium pitch: Where would the state land come from?
The proposed move would involve the state providing land currently used by the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and land leased by the Hillsborough County Tax Collector office from the state. DeSantis said DJJ and FDLE had already planned to leave their facilities.
The area is near the Hillsborough College’s campus on the Dale Mabry Highway, which abuts George M. Steinbrenner Field, a minor league stadium where the New York Yankees play Spring Training games. The Rays played in the stadium last year when their regular home, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, was undergoing renovations after Hurricane Milton ripped off its roof and caused other damage in 2024.
A mixed-use commercial development, including shops and restaurants alongside the stadium is what the Rays envision for the site, in line with new stadiums built by other teams such as the Atlanta Braves in recent years.
Even before the damage to Tropicana Field, the Rays under previous owners had tried to move out of the stadium, a domed arena with an astroturf field that regularly featured on “worst stadium” lists and where balls sometimes hit the beams near its ceiling while still in play.
As a small-market franchise, Rays owners sought a refurbished stadium to help drive ticket sales, as the club often was near the bottom of the league in attendance, even when the team has had many successful seasons in recent years. All of those efforts failed, however, with successive plans failing to gain approval from Pinellas County or Hillsborough County officials.
Tampa Bay stadium pitch: Will new owners secure new plan?
Patrick Zalupski, a Jacksonville developer, led a group of owners to buy the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg last year for $1.7 billion.
DeSantis believes the new ownership group will see the new stadium plan to completion.
“You got a group now that really believes in the mission of the team that want to bring home championship caliber baseball here,” DeSantis said. “I think when people see it I think they’ll realize the potential could be huge.”
Manfred, while stopping short of saying the plan was the last chance to keep the Rays in the Tampa Bay region, said the need for a new stadium was urgent.
“I do think we’re in a point of the history of the club where something needs to get done,” Manfred said. “But I’d be hesitant to say it’s this or never.”
Any agreements with Tampa and Hillsborough County, however, would need to be hammered out quickly to meet the timeline Rays’ ownership group wants, which is a new stadium in place by 2029. The team’s contract with Tropicana Field expires in 2028.
Gray Rohrer is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY athttps://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida governor, Tampa Bay Rays eye stadium deal in Hillsborough County
Reporting by Gray Rohrer, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
