The Tampa Bay Rays cleared another major hurdle Friday in their push for a new ballpark, as Hillsborough County Commissioners approved stadium plans in a 4-3 vote for a project on Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus.
That county decision came a day after Tampa’s city council backed the stadium 5-2 on Wednesday, leaving the club closer than it has been in years to locking in a long-term home. With both local approvals in hand, the Rays can now move into the bond and funding validation process before construction can begin.
The proposed stadium is expected to be ready for Opening Day 2029 and carries a price tag of just under $2.4 billion. Under the current deal, Tampa would contribute $80 million, Hillsborough County would put up $796 million, and the Rays are expected to cover roughly $1.37 billion, along with any cost overruns. Major League Baseball is also required to provide a $150 million loan for the project, according to the stadium development and funding agreement.
For the Rays, the vote is the latest step in a stadium search that has dragged on for decades and passed through multiple sites and ownership groups. Stu Sternberg, the franchise’s second owner, spent years trying to land a ballpark deal before selling the team last year to a group led by real estate developer Patrick Zalupski.
Tampa’s approval did not come easily. The city council narrowly signed off on a non-binding memorandum of understanding in May, and the Tampa Bay Times reported that council members have continued pressing for changes in the deal since then. The Rays had initially asked Tampa for $180 million, and the club is now taking on the $100 million gap.
“The opportunity before us is about much more than a ballpark,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor said in a news release Wednesday after the city vote. “It’s about jobs, economic development, new investment, and creating a destination that will generate benefits throughout Hillsborough County for decades to come.”
The team currently plays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, about 21 miles from the planned Tampa site. The new ballpark would be part of a mixed-use development, a familiar setup for modern stadium projects.
The Rays have long battled attendance issues and have often run with low payrolls, even while producing strong results for a small-market club. They still have not won a World Series since arriving as an expansion team in 1998.
A new stadium could also fit into MLB’s broader expansion plans. Commissioner Rob Manfred has said for years that he wants to take the league from 30 teams to 32, but has made clear that the Rays and Athletics need permanent homes first.
The A’s are currently in Sacramento after leaving Oakland following the 2024 season and are building a stadium in Las Vegas that is scheduled to open in 2028. New clubs would not likely begin play until sometime in the next decade, after host cities are selected.
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Rays Finally Cleared A Huge Stadium Hurdle But Fans Still Want One Thing
After years of stalled plans and uncertainty around their future home, the Rays have finally cleared a major political hurdle on the path to a new stadium. Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commissioners both gave the project the approvals it needed, with the city signing off on an $80 million loan and the county agreeing to cover roughly $800 million of the $2.3 billion mixed-use development.
The goal now is to get construction moving this fall so the ballpark can open by Opening Day 2029, a timeline that keeps the pressure on every remaining step between here and there. For Rays fans, the big question is no longer whether the project can survive the public approval process, but whether the team can turn that progress into a building that finally feels like a permanent answer. [Read more 🡒]
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The Rays long-running stadium saga took a major step forward this week when the clubs new ownership group received approval from both the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners for a ballpark on the site of Hillsborough Colleges Dale Mabry campus. It is the clearest sign yet that the franchises future could finally be settling into place after years of uncertainty, with the plan calling for a fixed-roof stadium with at least 28,000 seats and a surrounding mixed-use development.
The agreement also runs for 35 years and includes a non-relocation clause, underscoring how much local officials want this to be more than just another stadium proposal. If everything stays on track, the ballpark is slated to open for the 2029 season, just as the Rays current use agreement at Tropicana Field expires after 2028, leaving the club with a path out of its longtime temporary home and into a new era. [Read more 🡒]