The man reportedly buying the Tampa Ray Bays has a strong Stetson University connection.
He went there.
A Jacksonville group led by billionaire developer Patrick Zalupski has agreed to purchase the franchise for approximately $1.7 billion, according to The Athletic. The deal with current principal owner Stu Sternberg is expected to be finalized by September.
Sternberg acquired the team in 2004 for $200 million.
Zalupski, 44, earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Stetson in 2003.
After graduating, he worked as a financial auditor for FedEx’s internal audit department in Memphis, Tennessee.
In December 2008, Zalupski founded Dream Finders Homes. It is based in Jacksonville but has grown to service eight states, primarily in the Southeast. Dream Finders went public in 2021.
In 2025, Zalupski was named Builder of the Year by Builder Magazine. He holds a net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes. He is also a member of the board of trustees at the University of Florida.
Zalupski is married with three children. He recently put his Ponte Vedra Beach home up for sale, according to listings on Ponte Vedra Club Reality.
Zalupski’s ownership group includes Ken Babby, owner of the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Double-A Akron RubberDucks, and Bill Cosgrove, who runs Union Home Mortgage.
They prefer to keep the club in the Tampa Bay area, according to reports, with a preference for Tampa rather than the club’s current Tropicana Field location in St. Petersburg.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Patrick Zalupski, the man buying the Tampa Bay Rays, has a Stetson University connection
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
