NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
The Tanmpa Bay Rays and local officials announced a $2.3 billion tentative deal Thursday for a new stadium financed by public and private funds.
The non-binding memorandum of understanding between the Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa outlines the costs of a stadium, which would include $967 million in tax revenue. City and county elected officials are expected to vote on the deal in separate meetings next week.
“The Rays respectfully but steadfastly encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the Memorandum of Understanding and make possible a permanent home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry Campus, and create a new privately funded neighborhood that will be a welcoming and inclusive destination to work, live, learn and play,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.
Rays ownership reached an agreement earlier this year with Hillsborough College to build the mixed-use stadium and entertainment district on the college campus and to renovate some of the college’s buildings. The property is located next to the New York Ynkees spring training facility and across a highway from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Rays said they hope to have the new stadium built within three years.
Since the team took the field in 1998, the Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with the exception of moving home games to the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field in 2025 following hurricane damage to the Trop. The Rays’ lease extends through at least the 2028 season. The team returned to the Trop last month for the start of this season.
A proposed $1.3 billion redevelopment deal for a new stadium adjacent to the Trope collapsed last year, raising new questions about the future of the team, which was purchased last September by Patrick Zalupski’s ownership group.
Associated Press reporting.
